The Road Not Taken
by Thomas Mc
Summary: This is an 'alternate universe' or a 'what if things had happened differently' type of story? - What if Catherine and Vincent had met shortly after her mother had died and Devin had disappeared? -
1. Beginnings

**The Road Not Taken****  
**(An Alternate Universe Story)_  
By Thomas Mc_

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_**Author's Note: **__This is an 'alternate universe' or a 'what if things had happened differently' type of story? - What if Catherine and Vincent had met shortly after her mother had died and Devin had disappeared? - 11/30/11 Based on a comment from my wife I have made a small change near the middle of the first chapter to more clearly point out the decision that altered the timeline from what happened in the TV series. - 07/22/12 Revised text to correct for a problem in the editor and display programs.  
_

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**Part 1 : Beginnings**

**January 1957**

Jacob stared down incredulously at the incredible creature that Anna held cradled in her arms. He tentatively reached out to touch the unusual creature's fuzzy cheek. "He is so tiny." He commented as he gently stroked its tiny arm. As Jacob reached the creature's tiny hand, the creature wrapped his fingers around his large index finger. "He's got such a strong grip." Jacob remarked in surprise as he gazed into the worried eyes of his friend's wife. He looked back down at the tiny hand still firmly gripping his finger. "I will do what I can for him; but whether or not he survives . . . only time will tell."

Mary strode purposefully into the small infirmary carrying a load of baby clothes. Jacob, John and Anna were not even aware of her presence until she cleared her throat. Then she got her first look at it. "Oh, my god, what do you call that?"

Anna glanced at Mary momentarily then she spoke. "It's my baby . . . I found him behind Saint Vincent Hospital. So I named him Vincent." She glanced at Jacob then smiled down at the infant, her eyes sparkling with her natural compassion as she held the half human - half lion child protectively close to her breast.

Jacob looked over to see her husband, John, frowning and shaking his head. He wondered if this human-lion creature was going to cause problems between Anna and John. Jacob was a little worried about his friend. Lately John had been acting a bit odd, especially since Anna's last miscarriage and the creature was bound to put a strain on the couple's relationship. And then there was with this latest thing about John calling himself Paracelsus.

Jacob gazed at the creature taking in his unusual leonine features. "Vincent . . . I wonder what the future holds in store for you?" Then the creature began to cry and Jacob wondered if he should bring his friend Peter in on this little problem.

~ x BB x ~

**March 1958**

Charles gazed lovingly at his newborn daughter that Caroline held cradled in her arms. He sat on the edge of her bed and tentatively reached out to touch his new daughter's cheek. "She is so tiny." He commented as he gently stroked her tiny arm. As he reached his daughter's tiny hand, she wrapped her fingers around his large index finger. "She's got such a strong grip." Charles remarked in surprise as he gazed into the loving green eyes of his wife. He looked back down at the tiny hand still firmly gripping his finger. "I will always be there for you; but what the future holds for you . . . only time will tell."

A nurse strode purposefully into the small hospital room carrying a clipboard. Charles and Caroline were not even aware of her presence until she cleared her throat. "Mr. and Mrs. Chandler, I need the child's name for the birth certificate."

Charles and Caroline glanced at each other momentarily, then Caroline spoke. "We named our daughter Catherine." She glanced again at Charles and smiled, her green eyes sparkling with her love for him as she held their daughter protectively close to her breast.

Charles smiled back then spoke up. "Her name is Catherine Elizabeth Chandler." He nodded to Caroline with a 'that's that' expression. Up until this moment, it had been a toss-up between Catherine and Elizabeth. Charles had favored Catherine and Caroline had favored Elizabeth. The nurse repeated the name under her breath as she wrote it down.

Charles gazed at his daughter, drinking in the sight of her features. "Catherine Elizabeth Chandler, you've got your whole life in front of you." He caressed the side of Catherine's face. "I wonder what kinds of adventures that future holds in store for you."

~ x BB x ~

**Summer 1964**

Charles Chandler glanced around as he entered the very exclusive five-star Park Avenue restaurant. He spotted his close friend and family physician, who had just raised his hand to attract his attention. Peter Alcott stood up and the two friends clasp hands as they met. "Peter, I heard the good news but this is the first chance I've had to add my congratulations." Charles remarked with a big grin. "How is Ruth doing?"

"She's doing great though the midnight feedings are starting to wear her down just a bit." Peter responded with a smile.

"What about you? Caroline tells me that you have been handling as many of the nighttime feedings as Ruth has." Charles commented as they sat down at the table. "It has got to be a bit rough at your age." He concluded with a sly grin.

"Hey, I've known men much older than me that have become fathers." Peter shot back with feigned umbrage. "Besides, I'm a doctor and a resident at Saint Vincent. I'm used to being up all hours of the night." He laughed. "How is Cathy doing?"

"Oh she's a real pistol that one is." Charles laughed. "I think there is a streak of mischief a mile wide running through her. I'm totally amazed at how creative that little six-year-old mind can be sometimes." His eyes glinted with undisguised love and amusement. "She certainly keeps Caroline on her toes."

Peter laughed. "I hear from Ruth that Cathy has pretty much got you wrapped around her little finger."

"Who me?" Charles responded looking surprised.

"Yes, you." Peter shot back.

"Well I hear the same about Susan and you." Charles chuckled. "And Caroline tells me that, according to Ruth, You just absolutely dote over little Robin." The waiter showed up at that point and, after some discussion, took their orders.

Peter's eyebrows wandered up and down his forehead a bit at what Charles ordered. After the waiter left he looked at Charles with a bit of a frown. "Does Caroline know what you are eating?"

"Are you kidding?" Charles grinned. "She'd have a fit if she knew." He shook his head. "Sometimes I think all wives make it their mission in life to take all the fun out of dining."

"She just wants to keep you around as long as possible." Peter shook his head.

Don't worry about me. I'll probably outlive the lot of you." He responded. "Now what was this you mentioned yesterday about a new investment?"

Peter took a moment to shift gears. "I've run across an opportunity to buy an apartment building located right off Central Park West. All the apartments on the east side of the building have balconies overlooking Central Park." He tilted his head. "I know you've been looking for something like that as an investment and the price is very good. I've already got the financing lined up if we can come up with two percent of the capital."

"What would be the split?" Chares asked all business now.

Peter nodded to his long time friend. "I would be in for twenty-five percent. I have two other investors interested in putting up another twenty percent. If you can come up with the remaining fifty-five percent, that would make you the majority investor, I know how you like to be in control of your investments, and we could close the deal next week."

Being a top business attorney, Charles recognized a good business deal when he saw one. He was also familiar with the other two men that Peter had brought into the deal and knew them to be honest and very sharp business men. They discussed the deal and decided to form the partnership to buy the place.

~ x BB x ~

**Fall 1967**

Peter and Charles were discussing the reconstruction work they were having done on the Central Park West property. It had been a little over three years since they had bought the place together. The apartment rentals was significantly more than the mortgage on the building leaving healthy dividends for the owners and the property value had jumped by nearly ten percent in the last year. It had turned out to be a good investment so far but there had been some recent problems with the electrical wiring and they were having to replace all of the circuit breaker boxes in the building as a result.

"That will cover the code requirements." Charles remarked as they put away the paperwork they had been studying.

"We should be able to fold the cost into the mortgage on the place without much trouble." Peter concluded. "By the way how is Caroline doing? She looked a bit tired to me yesterday."

Charles frowned. "She has been feeling a bit rundown lately."

"Why don't you bring her in Monday and I'll check her out." Peter replied. "Better safe than sorry."

"I'll do that." Charles replied. "By the way, I was talking to our other partners yesterday and they tell me that they are both very happy with the dividends that they have made off our little apartment building, but they are both thinking of selling out. I can swing it on my own but I wondered if you want in on it?"

Peter thought about it, considering his options and his current finances. Finally he shook is head. "I would like to, Charles but right now all my capital is tied up in that new Clinic that I'm trying to get built."

"Do you need any help with that?" Charles asked.

"No. So far everything's going pretty smoothly with it." Peter couldn't tell his friend that he wanted to keep the clinic a private affair so that he could use it to funnel medical supplies to his other long time friend and that friend's rather unique hidden community. "Don't forget to bring Caroline by my office for a checkup on Monday."

~ x BB x ~

**Summer 1968**

Charles looked around the little eighth floor two-bedroom apartment. It was a lot smaller than their house had been, but he just couldn't stand being in that place anymore. Everything in this furnished apartment was new and there was nothing here to bring back painful memories of Caroline.

Caroline had only been gone two months and he missed her so much that he sometimes felt like he was drowning in a pool of black depression. Finally he had just had to get away from all the reminders of what he had lost. Everywhere he had looked in the old place, he saw reminders of his beloved wife. A bit of her was in everything, even the furniture carried reminders of her and he just couldn't stand to even think about it anymore. So he had sold the place, lock, stock and barrel and moved into the Central Park West apartment building that he and Peter had invested in a few years ago.

As he stood there little Cathy came up to him all somber eyed. "Daddy?" She looked up at him, concern showing in her face. Charles kneeled down and she came into his arms. As they shared their sorrow, he thanked God for his little daughter. She was the one bright spot left in his world. She was the only reminder of Caroline that he could stand to have around. She kept him from drowning in his own sorrow.

Finally Charles released her and with the monogrammed handkerchief, that had been a birthday gift from Catherine, he dried both their tears. Then, hand in hand, they explored their new home together.

~ x BB x ~

**December 1968**

It was a bright sunny, unseasonably warm, day and it was nearly Christmas. Charles had been standing on their little balcony starring out over the park just before settling down to work on some legal briefs. On days like this, it was nice living across the street from Central Park. But today his mind was elsewhere. Soon it would be Christmas and the thought of spending it without Caroline had left him feeling a bit lost and depressed. Caroline had loved Christmas and she had always found ways to make each one special and memorable. He had been standing there for a while, telling himself that he really needed to get back to work, when he had felt the hand of his daughter steal into his. He looked down into his daughter's sad emerald green eyes that were looking back up to him and sighed.

That was when he changed his mind. '_To Hell with those legal briefs_', he thought and instead he went out to the park with his daughter to enjoy the beautiful weather while it lasted. They wouldn't have too much time because there was supposed to be a cold front coming through late in the afternoon. Charles had no idea how that one simple decision was going to forever change the course of both their lives.

Charles settled onto one of the park benches while his daughter ended up playing with a bunch of children that had accepted her into their group. About half of the small group was dressed normally but the other half were dressed in unusual patchwork clothes that gave them an almost medieval peasant look. One result of her expensive schooling was that she actually understood what those terms meant. They were playing a game of freeze tag and Cathy was 'it'. She had just tagged one of the kids dressed in that odd patched clothing. He was a small funny looking boy named Pascal. She was now chasing a ten year old boy in normal clothing named Steven whose parents ran a small pharmacy about three blocks from the park. Her father often took her to that pharmacy because of the soda fountain at the back of the store.

Steven was trying to run around behind a tree to avoid her when he tripped on a tree root and went down skinning his hands and knees as well as scraping one cheek. The boy's mother ran over to check on him and comfort him. Cathy stood there watching as Steven's mother held him and dabbed at his wounds with a handkerchief. All the while Steven's mother was trying to comfort him by reminding him that tomorrow night was 'Winterfest' and Christmas was next week. Cathy wondered what 'Winterfest' was as the funny looking kid, Pascal, came over to see what was happening.

As Cathy was watching the mother and son, she was suddenly reminded that this would be her first Christmas without her own mother. She felt the same old feelings of sadness and loss rising up in her. The emotional pain reached a point where she had to get away from the mother and child, and the reminder of what she missed. She turned her back on them and stiffly walked quickly away from the pair, fighting to hold back her own tears. Finally the sadness overcame her and the tears she had been holding back began to flow as she ran blindly off into the park.

Cathy was soon lost and she was getting chilled from the cold breeze that had just come up. She spotted a storm drain culvert opening and took refuge from the cold wind in its dark interior. She moved almost blindly into the storm drain tunnel until it was too dark to see the floor clearly. She finally stopped and leaned against the concrete wall as her sadness completely overwhelmed her. It had been eight months since Momma went away, and she missed Momma so much, and right now it hurt so bad to think about her. Cathy slid down the curved tunnel wall to the ground, curled up into a ball and what little self-control she had left dissolved into heartbroken sobs.

~ o ~

He stood disconsolately in the storm drain beside the secret access leaning against the old rusty metal bars. It had been just over a year and a half ago, right after the adventure on the carousel, that Devin had disappeared and he still missed him terribly. Devin had always been his best friend, his confidant, his big brother. He gazed longingly at their names, carved into the concrete wall of the storm drain, and sighed deeply.

He grabbed the steel gate to pull it open when he heard a noise and froze. Someone nearby was crying. For a moment he was torn between caution, fear, curiosity and compassion. The curiosity and compassion won out. Quietly he crept up the tunnel towards the sound. _Pain_, _terrible loss_ and _sadness_ washed over and nearly overwhelmed him as he carefully approached the source of the crying.

~ o ~

Cathy was startled by a raspy voice that came out of the darkness. "Who are you? What are you doing here?" It asked.

She looked up surprised and peered into the darkness trying to see the source of the voice. She could barely make out an indistinct dark shape further up the tunnel. Afraid, she stood up and started edging along the wall towards the entrance still half crying.

The voice spoke again. "Wait, please don't go. What's wrong? Why are you so sad?"

The question reminded her of her mother and the sadness welled up to overwhelm her again. She broke down and once again she was sitting on the ground engulfed in broken hearted sobs. Then she felt gentle arms around her, rocking her as that kind raspy voice spoke words of comfort to her. Deep inside she felt a comforting warmth and she was no longer afraid of him. She felt soft furry gloves gently caress her head as she turned her face into him and cried herself out into his soft warm shirt.

He continued to talk to her, in that unusual voice of his, telling her that she was safe, that nothing would hurt her here, 'He' wouldn't let it. Finally the tight bands of sadness, constricting her chest, eased and the sobs became a sniffling whimper which also soon died away. Somehow the black cloud that had hung over her since her mother went away, began to dissolve just a little bit. For a while she sat there quietly as he held her and gently rocked her. When she finally looked up at her companion all she could see in the near darkness was a vague dark shape. She caught a faint sapphire blue sparkle where his eyes should be but that was all she could discern.

"Who are you?" She asked the shadowy figure, still trying to see him in the near darkness.

"My name is Vincent." He replied in that odd raspy voice. "Who are you?"

"Cathy." She replied simply.

"What is it that has made you so unhappy?" He asked.

"My mother." She paused as she felt the sadness again, but this time it did not rise up to overwhelm her. There was a feeling as though someone or something was standing between her and the sorrow, protecting her from its onslaught. She blinked. "My mother. She died. Almost a year ago she went away. It's almost Christmas and I miss her so much." Again she could feel the sadness trying to rise up but something continued to hold it back. "And Daddy is always so sad anymore. He won't even talk about her."

There was a short pause then the voice responded. "At least you had a chance to get to know your mother . . . and you still have your father, I never met my real parents. I was found, as a baby, abandoned behind the hospital. Father took care of me and raised me but he isn't my real father and I've never had a mother."

Her own troubles faded as she suddenly felt sorry for the plight of her strange companion. He had it so much worse than her and he had been right. At least she still had Daddy.

Vincent again spoke. "Tell me about your parents. What is it like having your real father? What was your mother like?"

It took a little bit of coaxing but finally Vincent was able to get her to talk about her parents.

First she told him about her father, the great lawyer. "He helps people and makes sure that they are not cheated by other people." She bragged then she puffed up as she declared. "When I grow up, I'm going to be a great lawyer and help people, just like my daddy."

They talked for a while and slowly she began to open up and told him all about her mother. This was the first time, since her mother had died, that Cathy had been able to really talk about her. It felt good, especially telling about all the good times. All the while she kept trying to see what her companion looked like but it was too dark.

Finally he stopped her and insisted. "You really should get back to your father. He is sure to be missing you by now."

They both stood up. "How will I find you again?" She asked, unwilling to leave her new friend.

"Just look for me here in the park and I'll find you." He replied. "You had better go before your father gets too worried."

Reluctantly at first, she made her way toward the entrance while occasionally glancing back at the lone dark figure barely discernible in the surrounding darkness. As she came out of the culvert she heard her father's voice calling her name. She ran towards that sound until she spotted her father at the edge of a wooded area calling out for her. She ran up to him practically leaping into his arms.

"Where have you been young lady? I was worried sick when I couldn't find you." He told her sternly, tears threatening to break free in his eyes.

"Daddy I was so sad and scared." She buried her face in his shoulder. "I was thinking about Momma and I got so sad that I ran away, then I got lost and it was so cold and I found a tunnel to hide in and I met someone with a funny sounding voice and fuzzy gloves and he told me that I was safe and let me cry on him and I told him all about Momma and I didn't feel sad anymore and then he told me that you would miss me and I should go back to you so I came back."

Charles looked into his daughters green eyes, so like her mother's, as she had rattled off her story. For the first time since her mother died, they were no longer clouded in sorrow.

He questioned her about her friend but the only thing he learned was that he was about her height; he was wearing soft fuzzy gloves and a dark hooded cape that hid his face; and her new friend had eyes that glittered deep blue when they caught the light just right. The description of her mysterious encounter worried him until he remembered what the psychologist told him several months ago.

Charles had talked to the child psychologist that Peter had recommended to him shortly after Caroline's death. The psychologist had told him that children often created imaginary friends to help them deal with their grief. He had also told Charles that he should not be alarmed if Cathy suddenly came up with such a friend. He had told him to just play along and once the grief had been healed the imaginary friend would fade away.

Well it looked like the man had been right, though it had taken longer than he had predicted and the form of this friend was so different from what he had expected. The faceless figure in a dark hooded cape was too close to the classic image of the grim reaper for his peace of mind. Charles decided that, as soon as he got the chance, he would have a little talk with that psychologist about the form of his daughter's new imaginary friend.

Cathy began to shiver in the cooling breeze and Charles wrapped her in her little coat and headed for the apartment.

~ x BB x ~

Cathy awoke Christmas morning to the sight of snow covering the balcony of their little apartment and the twinkling lights of the Christmas tree in the parlor next to the roaring fire in the fireplace. Daddy was there in his winter pajamas and bathrobe smiling at her as she stared at the tree that had not been there last night when she went to bed.

She ran to the tree and knelt down to see the presents around the base of the tree. The first one she picked up had her name on it and she tore the wrapping from it until she had exposed the treasure inside.

She turned to display the pretty new doll to her mother but her mother wasn't there and it all suddenly came crashing in on her. Just as the sorrow began to overwhelm her, it seemed to fade. The sorrow and emptiness was still there but it was as though someone or something was standing between it and her, holding it back. She was reminded of Vincent and the way he had comforted her the last time this had happened. She wondered if somehow he was the one holding back the sorrow this time. After a moment to recover, she faced her daddy and with a half smile displayed her new doll to him.

Charles watched as the cloud of sorrow darkened his daughters eyes then mysteriously faded away. He thought he knew what had brought the sadness on but what had driven it away? He kneeled down beside his daughter and held out his arms. "Honey, are you alright?"

She entered her father's embrace. "I remembered that Momma wasn't here anymore and got sad. Then I thought about Vincent and felt better."

As Charles held his daughter, he thought about his conversation with the child psychologist two days ago. Maybe the psychologist had been right when he had said there was no cause for concern. But there were still aspects of this imaginary friend that worried Charles. He shrugged. At least it seemed to be helping his daughter cope. He found himself wishing that he could deal with his own feelings of loss as easily. Well he had Cathy and that was a blessing in itself.

~ o ~

A little later, after lunch, father and daughter bundled up, went out into the park and indulged in a very cathartic snowball fight. That evening they went out to their favorite restaurant for Christmas dinner.

_**Continued in Part 2**_

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'**Beauty and the Beast'** and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures. No infringement on copyrights is intended. This story is presented merely for the enjoyment of fans. Original concepts and story elements may be used by other authors as long as appropriate credit is given.


	2. Friendship

**The Road Not Taken****  
**(An Alternate Universe Story)_  
By Thomas Mc_

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**Part 2 :** **Friendship**

**February 1969**

Cathy liked living in the two-bedroom apartment of the building her daddy owned because she could go to the park whenever she wanted.

It had been nearly two months since she had first encountered the mysterious Vincent. Several times since that day, she had felt the sorrow over her mother's death threaten to rise up only to have it blocked by some outside force until it would fade away. Whenever this happened, she would be reminded of her strange friend, Vincent, and she had decided to try and find him again. After a couple of weeks searching, she was beginning to get frustrated.

It wasn't until she remembered that the culvert was completely surrounded with heavy vegetation that she finally located the storm drain where she had met him. Half-hopefully, she made her way into the darkness where, to her surprised delight, she found him waiting for her.

"You were waiting for me?" She asked, amazed, as she peered at his dark shape trying to see him better.

"I knew you were coming." He replied.

"How did you know?" She asked intrigued

"I felt you." There was a pause. "I always feel you." Another pause. "I always know how you are feeling."

"Always?" Her eyes widened in surprise. "Even when I'm at home?"

"Always." He replied.

"But how?" She asked, really curious and slightly uncertain now.

"I don't know." He paused and she thought she saw movement as if he was shaking his head. "I've always been able to feel what other's are feeling when they are near me, in the same room . . . but . . . I've never been able to feel anyone from far away before."

She thought about what he had said. She was not so sure she liked this now that she thought about it.

"I'm . . . I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you." He paused. "I, ah, I can try to not feel you but it's kinda hard to block it out all the time."

She caught a hint of something in his unusual voice. He was unhappy that he had upset her. "Oh, ah, I guess it's OK." She thought a moment. "You know what I'm thinking?" She was again uncertain and curious.

"No." There was a pause. "Only how you feel and where you are."

She thought about it some more. "I guess, in a way, it's kinda neat. That way you know when I'm looking for you." She paused, looking at the ground, thinking. "Sometimes when I think of Momma it's like someone gets between me and the sadness." She looked back up at him. "Is that you?"

After a moment's pause he answered. "I, ah, I guess so. Sometimes I feel you getting so sad and I want to help so I try to . . . push the sadness away." He paused again. "I wasn't sure I was really affecting you. I hope you don't mind."

Again she shifted gears and stepped towards him. "Why don't we go up into the park and play?"

He took a step back. "No! . . . I, I can't. I might be seen." He paused. "I can't let anybody see me. Father says that if I get seen by them, they will kill me or, worse, take me away and do terrible things to me." She heard fear in his voice.

"Can't you let me see you?" She asked.

"No." He replied. "I don't want to scare you."

Cathy wondered what he might look like that she would find it scary. Some of the pictures she conjured up in her mind were pretty frightening, she had a very creative imagination, but she thought that she could handle it. Despite her assurances that she wouldn't be frightened, he adamantly refused to let her see him. Finally she gave up trying to see what he looked like and they both settled down together in the deep gloom of the storm drain.

For a while they just talked about random things. She found that he had some of the strangest gaps in his knowledge and yet he often knew a lot more than her about other things. She was surprised to learn that he had never seen a movie though he seemed to know the stories from all the movies that she could think of.

Eventually they ended up talking about her family again. She told him about the weekend trips to their lake house in Connecticut. She had not been there since Momma went away. She then told him about the two family vacations to Europe. It felt good to talk about her mother and the good times they had together. Daddy would still not talk to her about her mother. When she mentioned Momma to Daddy, he would change the subject. The conversation came around to Vincent's family but he was reluctant to tell her much about his life. The more she pressed him the more evasive he became. Finally Vincent reminded her that it was getting late so she got up and headed home.

As Cathy headed across the park toward home, she didn't see the lone cloaked figure that had followed her out of the drain and now stood beside the tree watching her cross the park. Twice he turned his back as others strolled past his location. Vincent knew that, as Mitch would often say, Father would blow a major gasket if he ever found out about him and that little girl. Once she had disappeared from sight, he turned and headed back down into the tunnels. Father had gotten used to Vincent's tendency to wander the tunnels but he still fussed at him about it if he was gone for too long.

~ x BB x ~

Cathy cautiously entered the storm drain. Twice before she had ventured down here and both times she had encountered the mysterious Vincent. Last time, over a week ago, he had told her that he always knew where she was. She still wasn't sure sometimes whether she liked that or not. If what he said was the truth then he should be waiting for her. She had only gone about ten feet when she spotted the dark shape in the gloom ahead. "Vincent?"

"I'm here." Came the now familiar raspy voice. She didn't know why, but there was something oddly comforting in that unusual voice of his. It always made her feel better when they talked.

She advanced. "I wondered if you would be here."

"I told you that I would always know when you came here, and I would come to meet you." He responded.

She reached his side and they walked together further into the storm drain. "I wasn't sure if you were playing a trick on me."

"I would never do that. You're my friend."

She smiled over at him. "If I'm your friend then what is your real name?"

He stopped and turned towards her. "Vincent." He replied in a slightly puzzled voice.

She looked up trying to see his face, he was about two inches taller than her, but he was wearing the usual hood like affair that surrounded his face in even deeper shadow than the gloom around them. Finally she responded to the tone of inquiry in his voice. "Your real name, silly. What is your full name? What is your nickname?"

He was quiet for a moment then he shrugged. "The only name I have is Vincent. Do you have a nickname?"

"Cathy **is** my nickname." She replied with a bit of a giggle. "My real name is Catherine Elizabeth Chandler."

"Catherine." He paused. "I like that name. Catherine suits you better than Cathy."

Something about the way he said her name sent a shiver up her spine. She liked the way it made her feel when he said it like that. "Yea, well, hardly anyone ever calls me by my real name." She felt a momentary pang of sadness. "Mother usually called me Catherine." She felt a single tear slide down her cheek. Vincent reached out and wiped away that tear. The feel of the fuzzy gloves he always wore made her shiver.

"I'm sorry. I won't use that name if it makes you sad."

She sniffed once. "No, it's OK. I kinda like it when you use my real name. I like the way it sounds when you say it."

"In that case then I will call you Catherine." She thought she caught the very faint glint of teeth for a moment. "Did you know that your other name, Chandler, means 'candle maker'?"

She giggled. "So that means that I'm Catherine the candle maker." She grinned at him. Then another memory made a lump rise in her throat. "One time, when I got very afraid of the dark, Momma put a candle next to my bed to make me feel better. Candles always make me think of Momma." He reached out and touched her hand. She closed her hand around his fuzzy gloved hand and she smiled at him. "I think I like being Catherine the candle maker."

Like the last time, they both sat down and talked. She liked talking to Vincent. There was something almost grownup about the way he talked but he never talked down to her. After a while she found herself again telling him about her mother. Like before, he brought out the stories of the many good times she and her mother had together. Daddy still wouldn't talk to her about her mother and it felt good to find someone that she could talk to about her.

The only other person that she could talk to about her mother was Doctor Peter and her friend Susan, but she hadn't been able to see them much in the last year. The conversation had lagged a bit and Cathy had become a bit thoughtful.

"What are you thinking about, Catherine?" Vincent asked.

Catherine shook herself out of her reverie. "Oh, I was just thinking about my best friend Susan." She shrugged in the gloom. "I haven't seen much of her lately. Daddy just doesn't have the time to take me over to her place very often anymore."

"Can't you go there by yourself?"

"No, Daddy says that I'm too young to go all the way to Brooklyn by myself." She replied a bit annoyed.

"How old are you?" He asked.

"I turn eleven next week." Catherine replied puffing herself up a bit. "How old are you?"

"I just turned twelve a month and a half ago." Vincent replied.

"Oh, when's your birthday?" Catherine inquired. There was only quiet and Catherine sensed just a bit of tension in the air. She was beginning feel anxious when Vincent finally spoke.

"I don't really know." A deep sigh. "Father found me on January twelfth." Another pause. "He says that I had to have been less than two days old when he found me so my birthday could be anywhere between the tenth and the twelfth." Catherine could hear the unease in his voice. "We always celebrate on the twelfth."

Catherine reached out and touched his arm. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you."

"It's alright. It's not your fault they left me in the trash." There was a definite hint of bitterness in his voice.

Catherine didn't know how to respond to that so she just hugged him trying to comfort her friend.

~ x BB x ~

**March 1969**

Charles watched as Cathy opened her birthday presents. Six of her closest friends had been invited to the party. Nancy, Rebecca and Susan were crowded closest to Cathy and were actively assisting in the process. Charles shook his head at the prospect of Cathy, Nancy and Rebecca together and cooking up mischief together. He often referred to the three of them as the three musketeers of their elementary school. He had received his share of calls from school because of something that the three of them had gotten into. Throw Susan into the mix and anything could happen. The last year however had been quite different. Cathy had become very withdrawn in school and the two times he had been called up there it had been an actual serious fight and the other two girls had not been involved. It was good to see her reengaging with her three best friends and the principal had told him last week that her attitude had improved dramatically over the last month.

Later after the party goers had all gone home he noticed that Cathy had become somber again. He had earlier noticed several children playing in the park across the street from the apartment and suggested that she might like to go out to play with them while he worked on some things from his office.

A little over an hour later Charles noticed that Cathy was not with the other children but they appeared to be playing hide and seek so he wasn't too worried at first. After watching the other children for a while without ever seeing Cathy, he finally got worried and headed down into the park.

After the third kid he asked claimed to have not seen her, Charles was getting scared. Then he saw her coming towards him through a clearing from somewhere near the center of the park After about ten minutes she spotted him and broke into a run. She was now all smiles and laughter, the somber demeanor of earlier was completely gone.

"Where have you been young lady?" He looked at her severely.

"I was talking to Vincent." She replied blithely, totally oblivious to his annoyance as she started telling him all about it.

That same imaginary friend again! But there was no denying that her emotional state was much improved over two hours ago.

~ x BB x ~

Two days after Cathy's birthday the child psychologist was gazing at Charles over steepled fingers from the other side of his desk. "Yes this Vincent is a very interesting and imaginative creation indeed."

"How do you mean?" Charles asked uncertainly.

"First off, she says that he had been abandoned by his parents. That makes his situation much sadder than hers, giving her reason to not feel so sorry for herself. He is currently supposed to be living with just a father figure. That put them on an equal footing socially, making him easy to talk to. She has given him the ability to touch her emotions so that, in her mind, she can use him as a way to run interference for her whenever she is feeling overwhelmed by the loss of her mother. His birthday is not an exact date. That gives him at least one familiar aspect, a birthday, without her having to pin it down. Finally he is a year older than her. That makes him someone she can look up to, like an older brother. Someone she can go to for comfort without having to upset you." He nodded to himself with a self satisfied grin. "All in all, a perfect companion for a young girl that is dealing with the loss of a parent."

"But what about the way he never lets her see his face?" This was the part that bothered him the most; the grim reaper aspect of her descriptions of him.

"That is the most interesting aspect of it." He leaned back in his chair. "By always keeping him in the shadows, it relieves her of the chore of giving him a face. It makes him a bit more mysterious, more interesting. It allows her to give her imagination free reign to make him into whatever she wants him to be at the time. And it will probably make it easier for her to let him go when she no longer needs him."

"So you see no reason to worry about the form of this imaginary friend Cathy has created?" He inquired uncertainly.

"No reason at all." He paused. "In fact I would say that the fact that she has been so creative about it is a very positive sign. Seriously depressed children tend to be very un-creative."

~ x BB x ~

Charles thought about Cathy's birthday last week as he looked out the window at the park below. He spotted Cathy just inside the park, playing with some other children. At least she wasn't off somewhere with her imaginary friend. Four times she had come back from somewhere inside the park, full of tales of the things she and this unseen friend of hers had talked about. He knew it was normal, according to Peter's psychologist friend, and he had to admit that she had been much happier since she first created this Vincent character, but sometimes he worried. He remembered the child psychologist going on about what he thought were very interesting and imaginative characteristics to this Vincent that she had created. He had found the whole thing fascinating.

Charles' mind returned to the present. It had been a couple of months since that first time Cathy told him about her mysterious imaginary friend and sometimes he feared that her creation seemed a little bit too real to her. The psychologist had assured him that an imaginary friend could seem as solid as the ground to an imaginative child.

Also though the psychologist's explanation seemed to make sense, he couldn't help feeling that there was more to this imaginary friend than they knew. Something about it still bothered him. Despite the psychologist's insistence that there was nothing to worry about, he wondered if he should talk to Peter about it.

~ x BB x ~

It was getting pretty late on the last day of March when Catherine eased her way into the storm drain and stopped about eight feet inside, waiting. After about a minute she spotted a dark figure approaching. She was determined that this time she was going to see what Vincent looked like. He stopped about fifteen feet away and she called to him. "Vincent?"

"I'm here, Catherine."

"Come on out." She suggested.

"No, I can't. It's too bright. You might see me." He replied.

She was a very determined and persistent little girl and she usually got what she wanted if she wanted it enough. Some might say she was spoiled but she was very choosy about when to bring her considerable resources to bear. She wasn't going to leave this storm drain until she had seen what her friend looked like. "Why can't I see you?" She stood there, hands on her hips. "You can see me."

"I told you, it was because I would frighten you." He replied in exasperation with just a hint of worry.

She seemed to sense both _exasperation_, and a tiny bit of _fear_ in his voice. She could almost feel it. She responded with just a bit of exasperation of her own. "You're the one afraid." She cocked her head. "You're just an old scardycat."

"**I am not!**" There was real anger and deep hurt in his voice.

More than that Cathy had clearly felt that same _anger_ and very deep _hurt_ within herself. The _hurt_ was particularly strong. It was almost as if they had been her own feelings, which momentarily surprised her. She was suddenly feeling very contrite and ashamed for hurting him like that. But what had she said that had been so hurtful to him? "I'm sorry." She hastily blurted out as she quickly advanced on him. "I didn't mean it. Really . . . I just . . . I just think it's so unfair." She reached out to the dark figure. "It makes me feel bad that you won't let me see you." She touched his upper arm. "I feel like you don't trust me."

"It's not about trust. I just don't want to scare you away."

She could distinctly feel the _uncertainty_ and _worry_ coming from him as though it was her own. "I'm not that easy to scare." She looked intently up into his dark hood. "Why do you think you would scare me away?"

"I . . . well . . . I'm not like everyone else." He gave out a sigh that seemed to come from deep within his soul. "I'm different . . . so different that my real parents abandoned me. They left me behind the trash in an alley."

She could clearly feel his _bitterness_. Then she began feeling angry on his behalf. "Aw, come on you can't look that bad. Your adopted father wouldn't have taken you home if you looked that bad. Those others were just stupid." She drew herself up to her full height. "I won't be afraid of you and I won't run away. You're my friend."

There was a long interval of silence. She could clearly feel his _indecision_.

Finally he spoke in a very subdued voice. "You're my friend, and I don't want to lose you."

"I don't run away from my friends." She was imploring him now. "I promise. I won't be afraid of you."

"You promise you won't run away or make fun of me." There was _desperation_ and _need_ in his voice and in the emotions she could feel from him.

"I promise I won't run away or make fun of you. I would never do that to my friend." She started pulling on his arm, trying to draw him out into the light.

"Well . . ." He momentarily resisted then, with a sigh. "OK." He reluctantly allowed her to pull him toward the opening. Father would have a cow if he found out.

With his heart in his throat he passed through the opening into the shallow culvert. Catherin stepped away and turned to look at him in the last rays of the waning daylight. His face was still hidden in the deep hood. The first thing she noticed was his clawed, fur covered hands. There was _surprise_ and just the tiniest hint of _fear_ of those claws but the _fear_ was quickly overcome with _curiosity_. "Are those really your hands?" She looked up in surprise at his still hooded face. "I always thought you were wearing fuzzy gloves." She looked back down at his hands. "Are those really as sharp as they look?" She took a step towards him, her _curiosity_ going through the roof. She had to see what he looked like. He took a step back, whipping his hands behind his back and she took another step forward. "Please, Vincent, I really want to see you."

He could sense a strong _yearning_ mixed in with the _surprise_ and _curiosity_. Finally, with a great deal of trepidation, he slowly reached up and pushed his hood back. For a long time she just stood there staring at him. Finally she broke out into a big grin. "Coooool!" She leaned toward him radiating _wonder_. "You're a lion-man." She took a step closer until she was standing within two feet of him and gazed up into his face. She cocked her head one way and studied him a moment then cocked it the other way. "Can you smile with those lips?"

The combination of the way she looked at him, the emotions he felt coming from her and the way she had said it, brought out one of his very rare smiles. Both her eyes and her smile got bigger. "Wow! You've got fangs."

He felt that she was actually _delighted_ by the discovery. Then he felt _annoyance_ from her as she glanced up at the sky. "O rats! It's getting late. Daddy's going to get worried."

Vincent could clearly feel the _conflict_ within her. She was _worried_ about her father but she didn't want to leave. "It's late. You really should be getting home . . . but you can't tell anyone about me or what I look like. If you do they'll come after me and kill me or put me in a cage and do terrible experiments on me." He implored her. "Please, promise me you won't tell anyone."

She gazed back at him. She didn't like keeping secrets from her daddy, but she also didn't want any of those awful things to happen to her friend. "I promise." She replied. Reluctantly she backed slowly away from him. He was right. She really needed to get home but she had promised that she wouldn't run away from him. She finally turned and started toward home but she kept looking back and smiling at him to reassure him. Not until she had rounded a corner and completely lost sight of him did she break into a run. She was late and probably in trouble.

_**Continued in Part 3**_

* * *

'**Beauty and the Beast'** and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures. No infringement on copyrights is intended. This story is presented merely for the enjoyment of fans. Original concepts and story elements may be used by other authors as long as appropriate credit is given.


	3. Missing

**The Road Not Taken****  
**(An Alternate Universe Story)_  
By Thomas Mc_

* * *

**Part 3 : Missing**

**April 1969**

It was mid morning as Vincent stood beside the community bathing pool staring down at his reflection. It had been three weeks since he had last seen Catherine. Several times, he had felt strong waves of _frustration_ and _worry_ from her and wondered why. More than once, he had thought with despair that his appearance had scared her off despite her promise. In those moments of doubt, he had berated himself for giving in and letting her see him. He had been thrown away by his parents and lost his best friend Devin because of his differences and now he had lost Catherine. He looked down at his clawed and fur covered hands which had left those terrible wounds on his best friend's cheek, and cursed them. He looked again at his reflection in the pool and, with an anguished cry, he picked up and threw a bath brush at his image in the water.

Then as he watched the ripples from the brush spread, he suddenly felt Catherine's presence coming into the park. She was hurrying and she was _eager_. He raced toward their usual meeting pace and arrived there at the same time as her. She was _delighted_ to see him. She was an outsider who had finally seen what he looked like, yet she was **delighted** to see him.

"You came back!" He exclaimed happily, as they approached each other.

"Of course I came back, silly. You're my friend." She stopped right in front of him and looked up into his face. "I'm sorry I didn't come back sooner but Daddy grounded me for two weeks for getting back home so late last time."

"I'm sorry I got you into trouble." He responded contritely. He felt bad for doubting her now that he understood the cause of her absence.

"No big deal." She smiled brightly as she reached up and pushed his hood back. Though he flinched, he stood his ground. Then she continued. "It was worth it to get to see what you look like."

There was not even a hint of fear or distaste in her over his appearance. He sensed only _acceptance_ and a genuine _happiness_ to see him. Catherine pointed out that it was cloudy and foggy and the bushes surrounding the culvert had grown thick in the early spring. They could safely play outside in the culvert and no one would see them. Her infectious good humor was hard to resist and he liked the idea of playing 'Above' in the park while it was still daylight.

An hour later, because of Catherine's challenge, they were very high up in one of the nearby trees, hidden among the thick spring canopy of leaves, and gazing, unseen, down on the people walking a path that was not too far away. This was the first time that Vincent had ever climbed a tree in the park and watched the people below. He found it exhilarating. The girl seemed to have a habit of challenging him to do things he never would have done on his own. Even Devin had never challenged him the way she did.

~ o ~

Peter Alcott stopped by his old friend's apartment. He had not seen Charles, his second oldest friend, or Cathy, his little god daughter, for a couple of months and decided to drop by for a visit since he was already in the area and it was just about lunch time. He knocked and the door, which was, almost immediately, jerked open. Peter took one look at the very worried expression on his distraught friend's face and had to ask. "Charles, what's wrong?"

"Cathy is missing." Charles ran his hand through his unruly hair, as he backed away from the door to let Peter in. "She knew we were supposed to go out for lunch together about an hour ago." He shook his head and seemed a bit lost as he glanced over at a picture of his daughter with his late wife. "It's been a year since . . ." Again he ran his hand through his hair, His voice caught in his throat. "And the last few weeks I had to ground her for coming home after . . ." A pang of regret flashed through him and he couldn't finish that last sentence either. Did her absence have anything to do with that?

"Where could she have gone?" Peter asked as he placed his hand on his friend's shoulder. Now he was getting worried, too. Cathy had always been the type to be where she was expected to be. This was not like her, but then it **was** a year since she had lost her mother and there was no telling how that might be affecting her.

"I had to run up to the office for a few of hours this morning and the house keeper said Cathy woke up shortly after I left and went to the park. She loves to go to the park whenever she gets the chance. She normally plays in that area across the street from the apartment building and she always gets home before dark when she goes into the park . . . but last time she had wandered further into the park than usual and didn't get back until after dark." After a few moments pause, he looked into his friends eyes. "She knew we had special plans . . ."

Peter glanced at his watch. "It's still a long time 'til dark. Maybe she just forgot about your plans."

"I could understand that, but she's not anywhere where I can see her and she's always been good about staying close to the apartment building."

"Why don't I go with you into the park and we'll both look for her." Peter suggested.

~ o ~

Both men went into the park searching for Catherine. It was heavily overcast and the faint mist in the air was getting thicker and heavier. Their vision was fairly restricted as a result, making the search more difficult. The two men tried to stay in sight and earshot of each other as they searched for Cathy. The heavy mist seemed to deaden their calls of her name and Charles was getting more desperate with each passing minute. The park was so big and they had no idea where she might have wandered off to. It wasn't long before Charles was no longer even sure where he was anymore.

After about an hour and a half of fruitless searching, and three quick checks with the housekeeper back at the apartment, they were standing by a picnic table. "I don't understand it. Until recently, she always stayed close to the apartment. Lately though she has wandered off a few times to be with her imaginary friend. That is where she disappeared to the last time she came out here. I try to give her some freedom to deal with her loss but it scares me when she wanders off like this."

Peter looked at is friend in sympathy. The last time they had talked, Charles had told him that Cathy had created an imaginary friend to help her deal with Caroline's death but he had not said very much about that friend except that he was supposed to be residing in the park. He found himself wondering if this imaginary friend might actually be some homeless kid. Peter realized that they were close to the band shell, which reminded him of another possibility for the origin of the 'imaginary' friend and a potential source of help in their search.

"She has always been so fearless." Charles was telling his friend, interrupting his reverie. "It's like climbing trees. It scares me half to death when she climbs so high but it's part of who she is and I don't want to change that . . . Damn it!" Charles hit the picnic table in frustration. "It's just that she is so headstrong and independent. Just like . . . Just like . . . her . . ." The lump in his throat kept him from continuing.

Peter reached out to his friend placing his hand on Charles' shoulder (it seemed like he had been doing a lot of that this last year). "Like her mother?" He remarked quietly.

Charles could only nod mutely as he fought back the tears that were threatening to appear at any second. He did not think he could survive the loss of his daughter only a year after losing his wife.

Peter grabbed both of his friend's shoulders and looked into his eyes. "I'm sure Cathy is alright and will show up eventually. Yes, she's headstrong and adventurous, but she is also very sensible for her age." He dropped his hands to his side. "Let's split up. We can cover more territory that way." Peter didn't mention that once they were separated, he could go ask for the help of a certain other old friend he knew. He again wondered momentarily if Cathy's imaginary friend could be one of the kids from Jacob's world. Even if it was not one of his kids, maybe some of Jacob's people could help search for her. But first he had to get away from Charles and, after he checked two places that had just occurred to him, he would go to Jacob for help. He was pretty sure he remembered where the nearest access was located.

~ o ~

About ten minutes after they split up, Charles heard what sounded like his daughter's screech coming from beyond the thick growth of bushes he was passing. In a panic for her safety, he hurriedly forced his way through the large clump of closely overgrown trees and brush.

At first, his mind refused to process the scene that he was presented with. On the ground, in the middle of the isolated gully before him, his daughter was flat on her back straddled by a creature that appeared to be half-human and half-lion. Charles was immediately aware that the creature had vicious looking claws that appeared capable of ripping his daughter to shreds. He wanted to yell but he couldn't act. He felt as though he was in a nightmare, frozen in place by panic, his heart beating wildly, as he helplessly watched danger closing in on someone he loved. Then the creature glanced up momentarily, in his direction.

Charles finally opened his mouth to yell, just as Cathy took advantage of the creature's distraction and suddenly gave a heave with a twist. An instant later, she was on top of the creature and yelling, triumphantly. "Got ya!" Then she was tickling the monster while he was writhing and begging her to stop. No sound came from Charles' open mouth as he stared stunned at the improbable image of his daughter 'tickling' that frightful creature into helplessness. Something in the creature's raspy voice tickled something in the back of Charles' mind. Then it hit him. It reminded him of Cathy's original description of her imaginary friend. She had made quite a point of his unusual raspy voice.

Once more, Charles opened his mouth to call out and again no sound came out as, in that instant, something new distracted him. He saw someone come from inside the concrete storm drain opening at the other end of the culvert, moving very quickly despite a pronounced limp. The man looked more than anything like a cross between a medieval peasant and a homeless street person, but he carried himself with too much dignity. "**Vincent!**" The man called out in obvious agitation. Then the other man froze as he spotted Charles on the other side of the clearing.

The two men stared at each other across the small culvert clearing as the two combatants on the ground halfway between them became fully aware of their presence. Both children jumped to their feet and stared guiltily at the two men.

Cathy and the creature glanced at each other. Then both spoke simultaneously. "Father I . . ." / "Daddy . . ."

At that instant, they were interrupted when Peter appeared running up over the ridge on the other side of the gully. "Jacob I was . . ." Peter skidded to a stop as he took in the scene before him. For several seconds the three men stared at each other in surprise no one quite sure what to say next or even how to react. Finally, Peter spoke up, breaking the stunned silence that had settled over the little gully. "Well, Charles, I guess you found her." He centered his attention on the children and cocked his head in puzzlement. "Vincent, what are you doing 'Above', especially at this time of day?" He furrowed his brow as he glanced first at Charles, then at Jacob and finally back at the children. Cathy and Vincent playing together? How had that happened?

Charles looked back and forth between Peter and the creature that he now realized, had to be his daughter's so called 'imaginary' friend. Though unreal in appearance, he certainly was not imaginary. He was too frighteningly real and standing too close to his daughter for his own peace of mind.

Again, that unusual raspy voice issued from 'Vincent'. "I, ah . . ." He glanced again at Cathy. "I was playing with Catherine." There was something special, a kind of affectionate tenor, in the way he spoke Cathy's name.

At this point, Cathy ran up to her father. "Daddy you won't tell anyone about him, will you?" She gazed earnestly up at him. "If you tell them about Vincent, they will do terrible things to him. They will take him away and I'll never see him again." Charles could see a tear forming in green eyes that radiated desperation over such a tragedy.

He kneeled down before her while glancing warily at Vincent and the two men that were standing beyond him. "No, Honey, I won't tell anyone if that's what you want." He continued to stare warily at the creature as he picked his daughter up and a wave of relief swept over him to have her safely back. He glanced again at the creature called Vincent. "So, is this the friend you told me about that wouldn't let you see what he looked like?"

"Uh huh. I finally got Vincent to let me see him a couple of weeks ago." She paused, looking puzzled. "Why are you here?" Then her eyes got very wide. "Oh, Daddy I forgot. I was having so much fun with Vincent that I forgot about our lunch."

As they had been talking, the creature, Vincent had gone over to stand by the, apparently, very upset, strangely dressed man who had put his arm protectively around Vincent's shoulders.

At the same time, Peter had come over to stand beside Charles. Peter raised his voice. "Jacob, this is Charles, the friend I've told you about, and his daughter Cathy." He then faced Charles. "Charles, my friend, we need to talk."

Catherine saw an opportunity and spoke up. "Daddy, if you and Doctor Peter are going to talk, can I go play with Vincent?"

Charles looked at his daughter's hopeful face in surprise. Then Peter placed his hand on Charles' shoulder. "That might not be a bad idea, Charles. With the exception of your own care, I can't think of a safer place for Cathy than in Vincent's company." He raised his voice. "Jacob, you should probably be in on this, too. Let Vincent and Cathy keep each other out of trouble while we talk."

There was a short conversation between the strange man, Peter had called him Jacob, and the creature, Vincent. Then Vincent approached to the halfway point and stopped.

"Daddy, can I, pleeeease." She implored in the way that had more than once broken his resolve.

"I can promise you, Charles, she will be perfectly safe." Peter insisted.

Charles glanced back and forth between Peter's look of assurance and Cathy's look of wide-eyed pleading. Then he glanced quickly at the strange creature. He took a deep breath as he made his decision. "Alright honey." He glanced at Peter. "Peter says that it is safe so I will allow it." He set her down and gave her his sternest look. "But you are to stay where we can see you."

"OK, Daddy, I promise." With a gleeful giggle, she skipped over to join Vincent as the other man approached Charles and Peter. Cathy grabbed Vincent's clawed hand and they were quickly in deep conversation. Charles and Peter joined Jacob and together they moved over to a convenient ledge near the concrete storm drain opening and sat down.

Peter spoke first. "Charles, you remember that physician friend I told you about?" Charles nodded. "This is him. His name is Jacob Wells."

Charles looked at Jacob in surprise. "I remember reading about that. Bad business all around. It's a real shame what they did to people like you." He held out his hand. "My name is Charles Chandler and it is an honor to meet one the few people that stood up to those monsters in the House Un-American Activities Committee . . . despite what it cost you."

Jacob stared back at Chares in surprise as Peter chimed in. "I told you so."

Belatedly Jacob took his hand. "It's nice to meet you too.

Peter jumped in again. "What I want to know is how Cathy came to know Vincent."

Charles told them everything Cathy had told him, including what he had thought about her stories at the time. After he had finished he glanced over at the children. They appeared to be involved in some type of complicated operation that involved piling twigs and stones. "One of the reasons I am willing to trust . . . Vincent with Cathy is because he apparently played a very important part in helping her deal with her grief over the loss of her mother." He glanced at the children again. "Is it true that you found him in a pile of trash?"

Jacob cleared his throat. "Actually it was a dear friend of mine, Anna, who found him, wrapped up in rags and abandoned among the trash in the alley behind Saint Vincent Hospital. That is where he got his name. It was Anna's idea. She brought him to me because he was very sickly. I did the best I could for him. I even renewed my acquaintance with Peter to get his help. For several days, we kept watch over him, never really expecting him to survive. But he hung in there and by the time he was a week old we knew he was going to live." At that point, a cloud of sorrow passed across Jacob's features.

Peter stepped in to continue. "About six months later Anna died tragically and Jacob took over raising Vincent. He is very bright, imaginative and surprisingly compassionate for a child of his age."

"Cathy claims that Vincent can feel other people's emotions." Charles remarked.

Both of the other men looked at Charles in surprise then Peter spoke. "We have long suspected as much, but this is the first time we have actually heard it confirmed."

"Cathy is very insistent on that point. She also claims that, unlike with others, he can even sense her when they are separated." Charles added as the reality of that situation hit him now that Vincent was no longer imaginary.

Jacob furrowed his brows. "This is an unexpected . . ."

At that moment, Vincent and Catherine came running up to the three men and Vincent interrupted them. "Father, there are some people coming." There was a sense of urgency and worry in his raspy voice.

Peter stood up and handed the rough homemade cane to Jacob. "Jacob, you and Vincent should get 'Below' right away. We can resume this discussion at a later time."

Charles and Jacob stood up. Jacob studied Charles a moment, judging, deciding. After a couple of seconds, he addressed his friend. "Peter why don't you come 'Below' with me . . . and bring your friend, Charles, and his daughter with you." He glanced quickly at Charles. "We can continue this discussion in the dining chamber over an early dinner." He again faced Peter. "You have assured me of his integrity, and his reaction to Vincent convinces me that he can be trusted. Besides, I think that we have a lot more to discuss than we originally thought." Jacob glanced down at Vincent and Catherine; they were holding hands and looking very anxious. "We must move quickly before the strangers that Vincent sensed, sees him . . . or us." Jacob started for the Storm drain opening with the others right behind him.

Charles wasn't too sure about entering the storm drain, but Peter and the youngsters had followed Jacob without hesitations so he also followed. They continued about seventy-five feet down the storm drain tunnel where they came to a five-way junction. One of the five branches appeared to be blocked off and there was a rusty iron barred barrier across the opening. Jacob opened a metal junction box that was set into the wall and flipped a large switch inside it. With a metallic click, the metal grate across the blocked opening swung outward a few inches. Jacob flipped the switch back to its original position and closed the junction box then he grabbed the grate and swung it out away from the opening.

Charles gazed, perplexed, into the short alcove and wondered what would happen next. Peter stepped around Jacob and approached the concrete wall at the back of the alcove. He grabbed at an irregular pit in the back wall and pulled. To Charles' surprise, the concrete back wall slid aside, with a low hollow rumble, to reveal a long dimly lit tunnel beyond. As they passed through the opening, Charles looked a little closer at the section of the back wall still visible. It was an ingenious wooden framework mounted on rollers. The visible surface was plywood that had been plastered and painted to look like rough concrete from the outside when it was closed. The illusion had been perfect until Peter had shoved it aside.

The only illumination in the long tunnel was about a dozen widely spaced dim Christmas tree style lights. At the end of that long concrete tunnel, they entered a maze of very old brick walled tunnels. Peter mentioned that they thought that these tunnels had been built around the time of the American Revolution. Charles gazed around in amazement as they passed through several large open areas where there were several levels open to each other. By the time he realized that he had become completely lost, they entered a large chamber with a fifteen-foot diameter circular shaft in the center of the floor. The wall of the shaft was lined by a spiral metal staircase and it was so deep that the bottom was lost in the mist far below. As they started down the stairs, Charles worriedly warned Cathy to stay away from the edge of the stairs. Her fearless attitude, where heights were concerned, had always bothered him. Charles was sure they had gone down well over a few hundred feet when they came to a landing at an opening in the side of the shaft and passed into tunnels that were rough-hewn into the native rock.

On both sides of the crisscrossing tunnels, they were now passing through, were openings, beyond which Charles saw small chambers that looked, more than anything, like small one room apartments. A few of them were currently occupied by people that were wearing the same type of worn patchwork clothing as the man that was leading their little group. They also encountered several other, similarly dressed, people moving purposefully through the tunnels. They all acknowledged the older man, with the approbation of 'Father'. To Charles' surprise, they also seemed to know Peter by name. Many of them also greeted Vincent, totally unfazed by his unusual appearance. They all, however, stared curiously at Charles and Cathy.

All the time, Cathy and Vincent were holding hands and conversing as she remarked on each new sight and he told her about the strange underground community. Charles was actually learning a lot by listening to the children's chatter. They entered a large chamber that had several mismatched tables and was filled with the aroma of cooking food. A large young red headed bearded young man greeted them. Jacob spoke to the young man. "William these two people are new helpers. This is Charles and his daughter Catherine." He then addressed Charles. "This is William. He does most of our cooking down here." He smiled at the young man. "William, do you think you can come up with something to feed our guests? We have all missed lunch and we are pretty hungry by now."

The redheaded young man glanced at Charles then replied. "Diner is still cooking . . . but I think I can come up with something for a quick snack to tide you over 'til dinner." He then disappeared through an opening in the back of the chamber. Jacob directed them all to one of the tables.

As they sat down Peter began. "This place, that Jacob has created down here, has become a kind of refuge, a safe place, where those broken souls that the world above has beaten down, or just ignored, can find acceptance and . . ."

~ o ~

About ten minutes after they sat down, William returned with sandwiches and fruit juice for everyone; then stayed to listen and to tell his own story. For the next few hours, Peter told his friend, Charles, a little of the history of the tunnel community. Several of the people that lived there, came by to meet the newcomers. Some of them, with a little encouragement from Peter and Father, told their stories to Charles. Catherine was as fascinated by the stories as her father and even asked occasional questions.

About an hour after they began talking, several children, lead by an older dark skinned boy named Winston, came in together and invited Catherine and Vincent to go off to play with them. Catherine immediately recognized Pascal and two others from that day she first met Vincent. After a moment's discussion and an admonition to stay in the home tunnels area, they were allowed to go.

A little while after the children had left, the subject of Vincent came up and Jacob went into a more detailed description of Vincent's history. He talked about the difficulties of raising such a unique child.

The more Charles heard, the more impressed he became with what Jacob had accomplished in this incredible subterranean community that he had created.

After a moment's hesitation, Jacob veered into a subject that he had always been sensitive about. "One of the things that I have always been worried about is that, with his strength and those claws, Vincent might hurt someone. A couple of years ago Vincent did strike out in anger but he was so devastated by the results that he has since become extremely careful around others."

Jacob paused, having difficulty going on, and Peter took over. "Vincent was far more traumatized by the incident than the other child. He has always been a very sensitive child and I was very worried about him for a while after it happened. If he really can feel the emotions of those around him, it would explain a lot about his personality."

"What about this long distance link that he seems to have with Cathy?" Charles asked.

Peter shrugged. "I don't know what to say about that. We have never encountered anything like it before. It must be some kind of offshoot of his empathic ability but I have no idea why it happened with Cathy."

Jacob spoke up. "I've never seen him develop such a close friendship with any other child. Even his friendship with . . . Devin . . . was never as close as with your daughter."

Charles noticed Jacob's hesitation over the name Devin and saw a look of deep sadness pass across his face. "Who is Devin?"

Peter jumped in. "Devin and Vincent were like two very close brothers. They were always into some mischief together, usually instigated by Devin. Devin was like a big brother to Vincent and he had always looked up to him. About a year and a half ago, Devin ran away from home."

Jacob jumped in. "Vincent was devastated when Devin left; I think he blamed himself. I can now see that it must have been his friendship with Cathy, these last couple of months, that has been responsible for helping him to finally get past it. It seems that their friendship has been beneficial for both of them." He gazed directly at Charles. "With the exception of Pascal and Winslow, Vincent has so few close friends. I hope you will allow your daughter to continue to be his friend."

_**Continued in Part 4**_

* * *

'**Beauty and the Beast'** and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures. No infringement on copyrights is intended. This story is presented merely for the enjoyment of fans. Original concepts and story elements may be used by other authors as long as appropriate credit is given.


	4. Excursion

**The Road Not Taken****  
**(An Alternate Universe Story)_  
By Thomas Mc_

* * *

**Part 4 : ****Excursion**

**Fall 1971**

The five vans opened up and disgorged their cargo of children from the tunnels into the bright morning sunlight. Pascal, Mitch, Sara and Winslow headed straight for the lake as most of the other kids spread out to explore this fascinating new place. Vincent stood beside the van and gazed around in open-mouthed wonder at the lake and the surrounding trees. With the exception of that one time in the park culvert with Catherine, this was the first time he had ever been above ground out in the open while the sun was up. This time however there was no overcast shroud or screen of surrounding shrubbery to conceal him. He could barely take in the variety and intensity of all the colors around him.

Charles smiled as he noticed all four of Vincent's sharp fangs on display as his head slowly swiveled from side to side. Cathy's eyes were glittering in unrestrained amusement as she also watched Vincent's reaction. Cathy tugged playfully on Vincent's arm. "Close your mouth silly before you start catching flies." She giggled.

Vincent looked at her a moment then his mouth snapped shut, a look of chagrin spreading across his face. Cathy grabbed Vincent's hand. "Come on!" She insisted and started toward the lake with Vincent firmly in tow.

Charles chuckled to himself as he watched the two of them sprinting away towards the lake and the woods that surrounded it. He knew where they were going. Cathy was heading for that giant old tree just north of the lake. Whenever he, Caroline and Cathy came to the lake house, that old tree was always the fist place Cathy went. He was sure that an hour from now both Cathy and Vincent would probably be heart-stoppingly high up in the branches of that tree. Despite Vincent's outlandish appearance, Charles had no qualms about letting Vincent and his young daughter go off on their own together. Charles had developed quite a fondness for Vincent in the short time he had known him. The main thought in Charles mind was that, this time when Cathy climbed that tree, Vincent would be with her and he would watch over her.

Charles thought back to two weeks ago when he had first proposed this little weekend outing to Jacob.

~ o ~

**Two weeks earlier: **"Are you serious?" Jacob stared at Charles in stunned disbelief.

"Of course I am! The kids will love the lake and the leaves are beautiful this time of year. There will be plenty of room in the old guest cabins to accommodate all the children plus, a dozen or so, adults to watch over them." Charles responded.

"But you can't seriously be considering taking Vincent on this outing." Jacob was trying very hard to remain calm in the face of this man's ridiculous suggestion. "The danger to Vincent if anyone saw him." He looked to Peter for support.

Peter responded. "Actually, Jacob, I think Vincent will be perfectly safe at Chandler Lake. Charles has thought this out very carefully. He inherited the entire lake and all the land around it from his father. No one but us will get anywhere near where we will be." Peter tried to reassure and calm his overwrought friend before he blew a gasket, or possibly an artery.

Charles jumped back in. "The five vans that I got for us to travel in have heavily tinted windows and we will be leaving New York an hour and a half before sunrise, Saturday morning. We will arrive at the lake just about a half hour after sun up. And we will be starting back for New York immediately after sundown on Sunday. We will be there two days and a night."

"But what if you have a breakdown or an accident on the way?" Jacob objected.

"That's the reason for five vans when four could easily handle the load. All five vans will have CB radios so we will all be in constant contact." Charles responded to Jacob placing his hand on his arm reassuringly. "Believe me, I have thought this out very carefully; especially because of Vincent. I have come to care too much for Vincent to risk putting him in any danger. Peter will also be there in case there are any medical emergencies." Charles brought all of his persuasive skills, developed from years of legal wrangling, to bear in his advocacy of the proposed trip. He even pointed out the 'connection' between Vincent and Cathy as an additional safety factor. Eventually he was able to win Jacob's grudging approval.

~ o ~

An hour later, Charles and Peter were heading back up the tunnels toward Charles' apartment. Peter remarked to his friend. "I still can't believe you actually talked Jacob into it." Peter shook his head. "I think it was how carefully you thought out all the details that finally sold him." He chuckled. "That and that finely honed legal rhetoric of yours."

Charles chuckled as he addressed his friend. "Just, whatever you do, don't tell him that this whole thing was mostly Cathy's idea. She came up with this whole, field trip for the tunnel children, idea just so that she could take Vincent up to our lake-house to see the fall leaves. Most of the safety precautions I brought out were her idea." He grinned. "That girl has the makings of a fine corporate lawyer in her." Charles chuckled then continued. "She also suggested that if everything goes well, we might want to make it an annual event for all the tunnel children then she suggested that we might want to do a similar weekend outing for each season." He chuckled, amused at the way his daughter had orchestrated this whole trip.

~ x BB x ~

While the vans were being unpacked, Charles entered the lake-house and made a quick phone call.

"Jose', its Charles. Will you get a message to Father?"

"Tell him that we all made it to the lake without any problems."

"Thanks."

"No big deal. I was happy to do it. It's nice to see the old place put to use again."

"I'll tell you all about it when we get back tomorrow night."

Charles hung up and smiled to himself then went back out to join the rest. They began organizing everything and assigning each person to a room in one of the three buildings. There was more than enough room to handle all the children.

Of the small resort that had originally been built on the property back in the early twenties, only two of the cabins had survived. They were both set back just inside he woods and about a hundred yards south of the Chandler family lake-house which sat on the western shore. Charles's father had the two remaining cabins completely remodeled back in forty-eight. Each cabin had two bedrooms capable of sleeping up to four each, a large common room, a bathroom and a small kitchenette. One cabin would be the boys cabin and the other would be the girls cabin. The Chandler lake-house had four bedrooms, three bathrooms, a game room, a large parlor and a large kitchen dining area and would be accommodating half of the adults.

~ o ~

As Catherine led him through the heavy forest north of the lake, Vincent's head never stopped moving as he tried to absorb all the sights around him. They came to the edge of a clearing and Vincent found himself facing the largest tree he had ever seen. It was at least twice as tall as any of the trees he had seen in Central Park

"Come on Vincent, I want to show you something." She told him as she led him up to the base of the tree. There were several very old boards nailed to the north side of the tree at irregular intervals. Catherine grabbed the ones that were in reach and tested them for stability. "Daddy put these here before I was born." Grabbing the highest board she could reach, she stepped onto the lowest board and started up. "Come on." She commanded as she stepped up to the next rung.

As she reached the forth rung, Vincent started up behind her. They had almost reached the lowest branch when one of the boards came loose in Catherine's hand causing her to cry out in surprise. Vincent had sensed her distress as the board had first started to shift in her hand. He instantly moved up two rungs, dug the claws of one hand into the trunk and reached the other hand up to steady her, all in the time it took the board to come away. His hand ended up pressed against her butt, which drew another squawk from her and left him feeling embarrassed but unable to do anything about it for fear she would fall.

After a moment, Catherine regained her composure. "I'm ok, Vincent." She tossed the loose board to the ground. "I had a hold of the other board." Vincent quickly removed the supporting hand then looked up, in surprise at the sound of her laughter, to see her smiling down at him. "Thanks anyway." Then she continued to climb while urging him to follow.

They had climbed far up into the tree when Catherine commented with a giggle. "I wish I had claws like you. It would make climbing so much easier." Then she stopped climbing and indicated that Vincent should move up next to her. She pointed outward. "This is what I wanted to show you.

Vincent gazed outward at the vista that surrounded them. They were just above the tops of the surrounding trees. To the north and east, there was a riot of color for as far as the eye could see. To the south, the trees were only interrupted by the clearing where the lake was located. To the west was a golden meadow about a quarter mile across broken only by a dozen smaller trees and a stone wall along the far side. For several minutes, Vincent gazed around drinking in the spectacular view.

Catherine meanwhile was watching Vincent, taking in the way the light played across his leonine features as his face showed the wonder that he was experiencing. Inside she could feel the _wonder_ and _amazement_ that he was experiencing over the link that they now shared and reveled in it. She had only recently discovered that she could feel Vincent's emotions almost as well as he could feel hers. The revelation had certainly startled Daddy, Doctor Peter and 'Father'.

"Catherine, Vincent." Charles called from the base of the tree. "I thought I'd find you here."

Both of them looked down in response to her father's voice. Catherine waved at him. "Hi Daddy. I wanted to show Vincent the forest from up here."

Charles nodded. "That's just fine honey, but it's time to come down and get ready for lunch."

"OK, Daddy." Catherine responded. Then she looked at Vincent and shrugged. "I guess we gotta get down now."

Catherine and Vincent started down as Charles watched anxiously from the ground. Despite his fears for her safety, Charles couldn't help feeling proud of her fearlessness and her sense of adventure. He noticed that Vincent was having a much easier time maneuvering up in the tree than Cathy. In addition, several times he saw Vincent reach out to steady her as they climbed down. Just knowing Vincent was up there with his daughter relieved a lot of his anxiety.

~ o ~

Several portable tables had been set up near the guest cabins and platters of cold cut sandwiches had been placed out at on each table. Soon everyone dug in and began talking about the lake and their plans for the weekend. The adults were seated around their own table.

"I can't tell you how much this means to most of these children." Mary remarked.

"Most of these kids have never been beyond Manhattan Island." Peter added. "This is an especially wonderful experience for Vincent."

Pascal's father spoke up. "We all appreciate what you have done for our children here."

Charles responded. "It's really nothing. I haven't been out here since my wife died. It's nice seeing the old place being put to use again. I'm just glad that the children are able to enjoy themselves."

Peter jumped in as he gazed over at Catherine and Vincent. "Regardless, there is no way we can ever adequately thank you for what you have done for Vincent." There were several nods and vocal assents from the rest of the adults at the table.

Charles shook his head. "I'm not the one that deserves the thanks. This whole outing was Cathy's idea. She wanted to give Vincent a day in the Sun."

~ o ~

Charles, Mary, Peter and Ben were sitting on the lake-house porch discussing possible future excursions to the lake for the tunnel children. The children and the rest of the adults were out playing in the lake. Charles had pulled out all three of the canoes and the little motor boat. The canoes were a hit with the children. The motor boat was beached just beyond the shoreline, ready for instant use in the event of an emergency.

Vincent had been very aware of how different he was from the other children making him a little self-conscious about exposing his very furry body to the view of the rest. As a result he had been reluctant at first to go into the water and some of the other children, particularly Mitch, had teased him about cats being afraid of water. Catherine had stated that lions were not afraid of anything and neither was Vincent. Whenever Vincent's differences were brought up, Catherine was right there to point out how great lions were and how Vincent's uniqueness made him special. It was Catherine's coaxing that had finally convinced him to change into swim trunks and join them in the lake.

Charles heard a familiar screech and looked up to see Cathy in the air six feet above the water's surface arms and legs flailing as she tumbled over to land on her back with a great splash. Five seconds later Robin shot up out of the water in an equally ungraceful arc. Vincent's head could be seen sticking up out of the water at the point where the two girls had started their flight. Cathy swam back over to Vincent. His head disappeared below the water and a second later Cathy again shot up out of the water with a squeal and a laugh. A few seconds later Lisa shot up out of the water squealing and laughing.

Ben nodded to himself. "It's good to see Lisa enjoying herself. She has been so quiet and somber since Mitch found her and brought her to us last year."

Mary smiled. "I noticed that she has taken a bit of a shine to Vincent recently."

Ben chuckled. "I'm afraid she's going to have some serious competition from Catherine when it comes to Vincent." He shook his head. "Lisa's got half the boys below interested in her, including Pascal, and she seems to be interested in the one that is already taken."

Peter laughed. "Isn't that always the way it is?" He shook his head. "Those kids are all either fast approaching or already smack in the middle of puberty. I shudder to think of all the drama that will produce."

Mary nodded her head. "Not to mention what the effects might be from that link Vincent and Catherine seem to have."

Charles also nodded. "I too wonder how that will affect their relationship."

Ben glanced out at the children under question as Amanda flew, squealing, through the air to land with a splash. "This whole thing about those two being able to feel the other's emotions seems so outlandish."

Charles responded. "I wouldn't have believed it either if I hadn't seen the effects of it for myself."

Mary commented. "We've all been aware of Vincent's sensitivity to other people's emotions but it was Catherine that realized that he was really empathic."

They all gazed out at Vincent as he tossed Robin into the air, each with his own thoughts about Vincent and the bond he seemed to have formed with Catherine. Everyone in the tunnels had noticed the changes in Vincent since Catherine first appeared. Vincent was still very aware of his differences but he rarely let it bother him anymore. Lately he had even been seen to occasionally exhibit a sense of pride in what he was, especially when Catherine was with him.

~ o ~

As they all sat around the fire pit beside the lake roasting hotdogs, the children talked excitedly about the great time they had. Pascal and Steven were going on about paddling around in the canoe. Sara couldn't stop babbling about the forest and it's brightly colored leaves. Vincent was also enthusiastic about the brightly colored forest as well as the lake. Mitch groused a bit about not being allowed to take the motor boat out for a spin but even he admitted that he had enjoyed himself.

Conversation died down a bit as the children began consuming their fire roasted hot dogs. Charles took the first bite of his hot dog and all the people around him faded into the background as he was suddenly back in his youth enjoying a picnic around the fire pit with his parents. He was overcome with a wave of nostalgia as he allowed the memories to wash over him. As the images of vacations past played through his mind, he realized that he would never again share this place with his beloved Caroline and felt again the loss he had thought a thing of the past.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up into the concerned sympathetic eyes of Vincent. Then he saw Cathy standing next to and a little behind him also showing concern. He patted Vincent's hand on his shoulder then reached out for Cathy's hand, smiled and gave it a squeeze. His melancholy melted away as he looked into his daughter's eyes, so much like his late wife's, and into the very unique face of Vincent who he had come to care for as much as his own daughter. Charles glanced around at all the other tunnel children sitting around the fire and finally looked back at Vincent and Cathy. He smiled. How could he remain sad when he had such a wonderful extended family to love?

Vincent sensed his shift in mood and returned his smile. He and Cathy sat down on either side of Charles and he put his arms around their shoulders, hugging them in gratitude for their caring. A short while later Charles headed up to the lake-house to go over some legal briefs for a case he would begin trying in court on Monday morning.

~ o ~

It was just after sundown and the children were now sitting around the fire pit beside the lake roasting marshmallows and telling stories. Charles was deep in his legal briefs when his concentration was interrupted by a creaking sound from the front porch. When he glanced out the front bay window he spotted Cathy and Vincent sitting together on the porch swing. The windows had been cracked open to take advantage of the pleasant breeze coming in from the lake and he could just hear their conversation.

". . . fall I will be starting junior high. Nancy says that they give you four hours of homework a night there. I wish I could go to classes with you 'Below'. It sounds like so much more fun." Cathy heaved a great sigh.

"It won't be so bad." Vincent's raspy voice responded. "We can see each other on weekends."

Cathy heaved another sigh. "I will be so glad when I graduate from high school. By then I will be old enough and we can get married."

Charles eyebrows nearly shot up into his hairline in surprise at his daughter's statement.

There was a long pause before Vincent's voice, a bit more subdued than normal, finally responded. "You really think we will get married?"

Charles found himself unconsciously straining to hear her response.

"Why not? We're best friends and Daddy always said that Mom was his best friend and we got this bond thing between us. It's just meant to be."

"But we are so different."

"So what, you're hairier than me. Daddy is hairy and Mom married him. You're cute and I like you a lot."

"What about your father?"

"Daddy wants me to be happy. I know he would understand."

"But aren't you going to go to college?"

"I suppose so. Daddy already has plans to send me to Radcliffe in Boston, and then law school at Columbia. I think he hopes that I will become a lawyer like him."

"Do you want to be a lawyer like your father?"

"I don't know. I want to be a lawyer, but I don't know what type of lawyer I want to be."

"But how can we be married if you are going to be a lawyer?"

"That's easy silly. We would live below in the tunnels and I would go above to work during the day. I can even get an apartment in Daddy's building for a home address."

After a long pause Vincent finally responded. "I don't know if it will be that easy."

"Daddy says that love conquers all. I know we can work it out." She sounded so positive.

The legal briefs forgotten, Charles found himself completely absorbed in contemplation of the conversation he had just overheard. Apparently his daughter had already planned out a life with Vincent. She was only thirteen and still pretty young but she had developed significantly over the summer. His little girl was fast disappearing to be replaced by the young woman. And at fourteen Vincent was rapidly developing into the 'man' that he was destined to be.

Charles knew how stubborn Cathy could get once she had made up her mind and found himself seriously contemplating the possibility of a romantic relationship, even marriage, between Vincent and Cathy. The pitfalls seemed overwhelming. But more importantly he found himself seriously contemplating his own mixed feelings about such a liaison between his daughter and Vincent. He lay awake very late into the night thinking about it.

~ x BB x ~

After a breakfast of eggs and bacon around the fire pit, the children ended up playing various types of chase games in the woods around the lake. Charles was still thinking about the conversation he had overheard last night. He wondered if Jacob had any inkling of the types of plans that Cathy had been making for the future of Vincent and herself. He wondered what Jacob would think about it if he did know. At one point Peter teased him about his distracted state.

Later as Charles and Peter strolled through the woods talking about the kids and how well the camping trip was going, he told Peter about the conversation he had overheard last night.

Peter thought seriously about it for a long time before he responded. "Normally I would see it as a typical adolescent infatuation. My daughter Susan has been though them . . . but this empathic link that Cathy and Vincent share changes all the rules." For a while Peter seemed to be considering what to say next. "Have you ever noticed that those two never argue, except playfully?" He looked over at his friend. "They can't lie to each other and they can't really hide their feelings from each other for very long. Almost every couple I know would envy a relationship that worked that well." He was carefully gauging his friend's reaction to his next words. "I don't know if they will end up together but I suspect that it is very likely and if it happens it may well become the stuff of romantic legend. Their stories already make a damn fine tale."

They walked on in silence for a while then Charles spoke his concerns. "What of all the difficulties? His inability to share her world. The physical difficulties. The constant secrecy." He looked down at the ground. "And then there's the one question that keeps nagging at the back of my mind." He glanced back at Peter. "Just how . . . human . . . is he?"

Peter glanced over at Charles and saw the uncertainty in his face. "Do you want my personal or my professional response to that question?"

After a moment's thought, Charles responded. "I guess I would like to have both."

Peter thought for a long while before answering. "Well if you shaved all that fur off of him, and ignored his face and claws, he would 'look' as human as you or I. Internally all the parts seem to be in the right place. He is two to three times stronger and faster than human norm. His bones appear to be much denser. I gave him a standard IQ test and he tested out at 155. He was born the way he is so it is in his genes." Peter again looked at his friend. "Taking all that into consideration I still think he is as human as anyone else. Now whether he is genetically compatible with a normal human, I have no idea."

Charles shook his head. "Even if he is human and compatible, there are still so many obstacles."

"Have faith in your daughter." Peter chuckled. "Since when has Cathy ever let anything stand in the way of what she had set her heart on?" Peter touched his friends shoulder. "Overcoming those obstacles is part of what will make their relationship the stuff of legend. I have faith that if things do turn out the way she is planning, she will find a way to make it work. She is smart, creative and relentless. She's your daughter, Charles. You know this better than anyone."

~ o ~

After lunch the children again went swimming in the lake. Charles had noticed Vincent and Cathy taking one of the canoes out across the lake. They beached it on the far side then stretched out on the beach sunbathing. An hour latter Vincent and Catherine returned and joined the rest of the tunnel kids in the water for a vigorous game of 'Marco Polo'.

Throughout the day Charles noticed that Cathy and Vincent were constantly together. When they all piled into the vans for the trip back to New York, Cathy made a concerted effort to be sure that she and Vincent were seated together, all much to Lisa's annoyance.

_**Continued in Part 5**_

* * *

'**Beauty and the Beast'** and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures. No infringement on copyrights is intended. This story is presented merely for the enjoyment of fans. Original concepts and story elements may be used by other authors as long as appropriate credit is given.


	5. Discovery

**The Road Not Taken****  
**(An Alternate Universe Story)_  
By Thomas Mc_

* * *

**Part 5 : Discovery**

**1972**

Cathy was rooting around in the Apartment building basement searching through the scattered stacks of junk. Somewhere down here there was supposed to be a box full of old discarded sports equipment that had been abandoned by a previous tenant several years ago. One of the building security guards had told her about it and she thought that the kids from below would be able to get a lot of use out of those old balls and rackets, mallets and nets.

She pulled another huge box away from the wall and opened it up. Inside were dozens of balls, including basketballs, volleyballs, footballs, baseballs, tennis balls, soccer balls, a couple of old air pumps, some baseball bats and bases, tennis and badminton rackets, nets, jump ropes and other things that she didn't recognize. This was what she was looking for. Now all she had to do was get it 'Below'. Then she realized that there was a second identical box nearby. When she pulled it out and opened it to find more of the same. The two boxes were each way too big and heavy for her to carry.

As she stood there trying to figure out how to get all the stuff down to the tunnels, she noticed a three by three foot metal hatchway in the wall where the second box had been sitting. Her curiosity peaked; she went over to examine it. She grabbed the small T-shaped handle and pulled. Nothing happened. She looked closer then turned it and the hatch came open.

On the other side was a shaft. She could see the floor about a dozen feet or so below in the dim light that filtered up from down there. After a quick examination, she discovered metal rungs embedded like giant staples in the concrete wall to the right of the hatchway.

She climbed down and found herself in a small rectangular room. The center of the room was dominated by a bright shaft of light shining from somewhere overhead. The wall to the left was covered with metal boxes pipes and various types of conduits. The far wall, which was partially obscured by the light shaft, was brick rather than concrete. Everything was covered in a thick layer of dust and Cathy wondered if anyone even knew this room was here.

Cathy crossed the room to get a better look at what was beyond that shaft of light. As she looked at the brick wall she could feel a definite flow of air coming from it. Closer examination revealed that the air came from the multiple cracks in the brick wall; some as much as a quarter inch wide. She located a loose brick and managed with a lot of wiggling and pulling to remove it from the wall. There was another layer of bricks behind it but the mortar was missing from the gap between the two bricks visible through the hole. There was a faint light coming through that gap. She reached in and pushed. One of the two visible bricks shifted outward and fell away. Cathy could now see into another lighted room.

Cathy was eventually able to remove about a dozen loose bricks making a large enough hole to get her head through. What she saw was a long brick walled tunnel that looked just like some of the brick tunnels in the upper levels near where Vincent lived. Maybe she had found another way into the tunnels of 'Below'. Cathy looked at the small hole she had made in the wall. This was definitely something to think about. It would be a lot easier to visit Vincent if she had direct access to the tunnels from the apartment building. She would have to see if Vincent knew anything about this tunnel the next time she saw him.

Daddy would be home from work soon and she still had to figure out how to get those two boxes of sports equipment down to the tunnel kids. She headed back up to the apartment building basement and carefully closed and hid the hatch she had found.

With a great deal of pulling and shoving, she managed to get both of the two large boxes over to the elevator. But she was unable to get them into the elevator because the elevator floor didn't quite line up with the opening. She finally shoved the boxes back away from the Elevator doorway and went up to her apartment. Maybe Daddy would have an idea.

~ o ~

At dinner Catherine told her father about the boxes of old discarded athletic equipment and her plans for them. He thought it was a wonderful idea and told her he would go below after dinner and talk to Father about getting some of those from Below to help her tomorrow morning.

Catherine went below with her father and while the two men discussed the best way to bring the two boxes of equipment below, she and Vincent went off on their own. "Vincent, I think I found a way into the tunnels from my apartment building." She told him excitedly.

Vincent shrugged as he responded. "I've been in the tunnels near your building a couple of times and I've never found an access." He shrugged at his admission to the fact that he had been looking.

"Show me." She demanded.

After a sort walk they reached one of the ancient abandoned brick walled utility tunnels that honeycombed central Manhattan near the surface. They had gone a short distance in that tunnel and passed through a dogleg shift when Vincent stopped short. Catherine sensed his _surprise _and_ uncertainty_, and looked over at him. Observing the direction of his surprised gaze, she peered ahead down the tunnel. A short distance ahead there was a small irregular pile of broken bricks on the floor near the left hand wall.

Catherine's excitement mounted as they cautiously approached the pile. Soon she found herself looking through 'her' hole into the small room with the bright beam of light shining down from overhead. She turned around and embraced Vincent. "This is it! That is the pipe room below my apartment building."

Vincent tested the bricks still in the wall. He realized that he could easily break through this wall and with just a little work he could rig up a doorway. After a few seconds contemplation he decided, despite the abandoned look of the tunnel, to build a concealed opening and doorway to hide it from any curious city utility worker's eyes.

~ x BB x ~

The next day Catherine and Charles, with the help of a couple of the children from 'Below', loaded the two boxes of equipment into a van borrowed from Peter and took it over to a small apothecary owned by a helper named Dr. Wong. Vincent, Winslow and Ben were there waiting for them. Together they took everything down into the tunnels. All of the balls and game equipment was placed in the newly enlarged children's dormitory chamber they had set up for the orphaned street kids that the community had taken in.

The next day, Vincent, Pascal and Winslow met Catherine at the opening in the sub-basement brick wall and they began to enlarge the opening until it was about the size of a door. The next day Vincent and Winslow began building the concealed door. By the end of the week it was finished and from either side of the wall it appeared to be a solid brick wall. The doors on either side of the wall were covered by a thin veneer made from thin slabs cut from the bricks removed to make the opening, so that they blended in with the wall perfectly. By the time the new doorway was finished, Catherine had already made several trips down and learned how to get to the home tunnels by way of the new opening.

The next week, Catherine and Vincent showed her father the new doorway and the new way down to the tunnels. Catherine wasted no time using the new more convenient access to visit Vincent more often. Vincent also found that he could now easily get to the balcony of Catherine's apartment by way of the new access and the building's elevator shaft.

The first time Vincent used this new route to Catherine's apartment, Catherine had felt him approaching and was on the balcony waiting. As he clung to the building wall near the balcony he saw her waiting and quoted softly. "Hark, what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east and Catherine is the sun."

Catherine continued to gaze out at the park and giggled at the modified quote then she responded. "Vincent, Vincent, where fore art thou Vincent?" Again she giggled as Vincent swung onto the balcony.

"I am here." Vincent announced.

"How camest thou hither?" She leaned out looking down the building's side. "The walls are high and hard to climb."

"With loves light wings did I o'erperch these walls." Vincent replied with a grin, buffing his claws against his vest.

Still laughing, Catherine grabbed his hand and dragged him into the parlor where pop-corn and her father waited. Charles had heard their exchange and was having a hard time keeping a straight face as they entered. '**Romeo and Juliet**' was going to be playing on the television tonight.

~ x BB x ~

Jacob Wells (AKA 'Father' to those that lived 'Below') glanced at the entry that he had just finished writing in his journal. Today had been very interesting.

_**Just before lunch today, I became aware of the sound of  
instruments and singing permeating the tunnels outside  
my chamber. The music was unfamiliar to me and I  
traced the sound to Vincent's chamber. There were a  
half dozen people outside his chamber, apparently drawn  
there by the same music. I looked into his chamber to  
see Catherine, Vincent, Pascal, Winslow and Susan all  
listening to an ingenious battery powered tape machine.  
The song they were listening to turned out to be from a  
group of four young men that go by the most improbable  
title of 'The Beatles'. The tape machine was apparently a  
birthday present to Catherine from her father. The worst  
part is that now I just can't get that ridiculous song out  
of my head.**_

Jacob looked up from his journal, shaking his head with a chuckle. One thing about Catherine, things were never dull with her around. She had been coming below more often since Vincent had made that access doorway into her building. He shrugged with a sigh. Vincent had also used that access to go above to her apartment several times as well and he was not quite so sure how he felt about that.

~ x BB x ~

Catherine became aware that Vincent was very upset about something. She glanced at her watch; still two hours until school let out for the day. She was seriously thinking about skipping her last class but in the end her sense of duty combined with unwillingness to upset her father barely won out. The instant school let out, Catherine made a dash for the nearest tunnel access. Thirty minutes later she found Vincent brooding on the long windy stairway to the Winterfest chamber.

"Vincent, what is wrong?" She inquired as she approached him.

"It's Mitch. I got into an argument with Mitch today." Vincent sighed as he looked up at her. "I know that he has been hanging around with that gang in the park. I told him that Father knew about what he had been doing and tried to convince him to stay away from that gang. I told Mitch that they would only get him into trouble. He told me to keep my nose out of his business." Vincent leaned back against the rock wall and kicked a pebble off the stairway into the abyss. "I just know that if he keeps hanging with that gang, he is going to get into serious trouble and be banished from the tunnels."

Catherine leaned up against the wall next to Vincent and scuffed the floor with the toe of her shoe. "Mitch has been a troublemaker as long as I've known about 'Below'."

"Father took him in as a favor to Mitch's father who is a helper. He was hoping that Father could show Mitch a better way to live and maybe keep him out of trouble." Vincent shook his head. "Father has been very disappointed in his behavior lately. He is also unhappy that he has failed Mitch's father."

Catherine shook her head. "Mitch is not a good person; he is going to end up in jail eventually."

Vincent was now scuffing the ground with his boot. "There is still good in him, I keep thinking if only I could get through to him . . ."

"Nobody can get through to him. Mitch only cares about Mitch." Catherine retorted.

"Still I have to try." Vincent insisted stubbornly. "But I feel like I'm failing Father and Mitch's father."

"You are a better person than I am." Catherine responded. "I would have given up on him a long time ago." She reached over and touched his forearm. "You can't save the world, Vincent. All you can do is try to help. You mustn't beat yourself up if they aren't smart enough to accept your help."

"That's what Father said."

"Yea, my dad is always telling me the same thing." She shrugged. "I guess sometimes they can be pretty smart." She leaned in conspiratorially and continued in a lower tone. "But don't ever tell them that I said that." She giggled. "It's a very un-cool thing for us teen's to say."

~ x BB x ~

Vincent was talking as he led Catherine along the unfamiliar tunnel. "Pascal and I found this place just last week." They turned a corner and passed through an opening into a medium sized natural chamber. The center of the chamber was dominated by a large reflective pool surrounded by a rocky shoulder that ranged from six to fifteen feet in width. "I call it the Mirror pool."

As Catherine approached she felt as if she were looking down into the night sky. She looked up into the dark chamber roof, expecting to see the night sky, but all she saw was the roof of the chamber shrouded in shadow. She kneeled down and leaned forward and looked back down into the pool to see her own reflection surrounded by stars. "Where do the stars come from?" She asked as she recognized several constellations.

"I don't really know where they come from. Some type of unusual optical effect I suppose." He responded with a shrug.

She poked her finger into the water and shivered. It was ice cold. Try as she might, she was unable to see the bottom of the pool, only the stars and her own reflection. "How deep is it?"

Vincent again shrugged. "I don't know but it is at least a couple of dozen feet deep." He knelt down beside her and leaned forward to look into the water. "Their side by side images surrounded by stars were reflected back to them.

Something about his reflection next to hers in the pool made Catherine feel funny inside, especially when she found herself gazing into his eyes which were gazing back into hers. They both looked up at the same time and ended up with their faces inches apart looking into each other's eyes again. Catherine felt chills running up and down her spine and she could definitely feel an equivalent emotional effect coming from Vincent.

After a couple of seconds Vincent spoke softly. "What are you thinking?"

Catherine replied without thinking. "I just wondered what it would be like to kiss you." As soon as it was out, she realized what she had said and turned bright red. She felt a sudden spurt of _uncertainty_, _excitement_ and a touch of _embarrassment_ from Vincent that perfectly matched her own emotions.

Vincent turned red enough for Catherine to see it through his fur as he tried to come up with something to say. "Do you want to kiss me?" He asked in a voice that he barely recognized as his own. Though she didn't answer he felt her positive response to the question and his excitement increased.

She finally responded with a question. "Would you like to kiss me?"

Even had she not been able to feel his emotional response to her question, the sparkle in his blue eyes was enough to give her his answer. Slowly, hesitantly they leaned in towards each other until finally their lips met in the chastisest of innocent kisses yet the lightning that shot through them both, carried the promise of real passion.

They separated and sat there staring at each other in surprise for a while then without a word they again leaned in toward each other for a second kiss as Catherine's hand came up to caress his cheek.

~ x BB x ~

Cathy was over at Rebecca's place with Linda. The girls had come there right after school and had been talking about the boys at school and who was going with whom. It had been mentioned that Cathy had showed no interest in any of the boys at school. Linda was looking at her best friend critically as she indicated the heart shaped artwork on the side of Cathy's school notebook. "Come on Cathy, give. Who is Vincent?"

"Good question." Rebecca added. "I've asked around and there is nobody named Vincent going to our school." She shrugged. "So who is Vincent? What is he like?"

Cathy thought a minute then she finally responded. "I can't tell you anything about him. He is a secret." She got a rather enigmatic grin that intrigued her two friends. "He is really cute though."

"Oh, come on Cathy you've got to tell us more than that. Like how long have you known him, where did you meet him and why have we never seen him?"

Cathy shook her head. "I just can't tell you anything about him. Everything about him is a secret."

"Witness protection!" Nancy exclaimed. "I bet he's in witness protection."

~ x BB x ~

**May 1973**

Catherine, Nancy and Rebecca along with a half dozen of their close friends sat around the table as Rebecca blew out the fifteen candles in her birthday cake. Once the cake and ice-cream had been passed out, the conversation settled around the fast approaching summer vacation and various plans for after school. Rebecca was going on about a boy named Stephen that she was sweet on and Nancy was expounding on Jack and his cool leather biker jacket. Catherine was the only one of the girls not currently paired with a boy at school.

Around eight o'clock the party broke up and all but Nancy and Rebecca went home. Those two girls stayed for a planned sleepover birthday party. The three friends sat around the parlor coffee table talking until very late. As before Cathy still refused to tell them anything about the boy Vincent that they both knew she was sweet on. After a while they settled into the three sleeping bags laid out on the parlor floor.

~ o ~

Catherine was cuddled up in her mother's lap while her mother was reading to her. After a while she noticed that her mother's arms felt very cold to her and seemed to be getting colder. She was getting very disturbed by how cold her mother felt when she noticed that her mother was no longer reading. She turned and found herself looking into dead eyes and expressionless face. She called out for her mother then she was standing over her mother laid out on the bed. She called out to her mother again and she was standing beside her father staring at a coffin that gave off an ominous feeling of dread.

~ o ~

She called out for help then she was sitting up in bed tears trailing down her cheeks. Then she felt a familiar warmth welling up within her to soothe over her sorrow. After a couple of minutes she sensed his rapid approach. She glanced around the dark room. No one moved. She got up out of her sleeping bag and headed to the balcony doors when she felt him arriving on the balcony. She opened the door and stepped out on to the balcony and, with three quick steps, into his arms.

"Vincent, what are you doing here?" Catherine asked him her voice a bit unsteady.

"I felt your need and I came here to help." He replied.

"This is dangerous for you. I have some friends over." She protested.

"That short nightie you're wearing is dangerous for me." He responded as he embraced her tightly then kissed her.

~ o ~

Nancy was awakened by the sound of Cathy calling out "Momma!" Then she heard Cathy call for "Vincent" as she awoke. She saw Cathy sit up and look around and start to cry. Just as she was about to go to Cathy, she stopped crying and seemed to become very alert. Nancy glanced over at Rebecca and saw that her eyes were also open. After about a minute they both saw Cathy get up and go out onto her balcony. A few seconds later, to her surprise, she heard voices from out there.

Nancy and Rebecca glanced at each other then scrambled for the balcony door. As they both peered through the half open door they clearly saw, in the relatively bright light of the full moon, that Cathy was enclosed in the powerful arms of a large creature that looked like he was half man and half lion. The creature immediately became aware of them as Nancy sucked in a startled breath and Rebecca emitted a startled squeak. A moment later Cathy whipped around and appeared to be vainly trying to shield the creature, which was nearly a head taller than her, from their view.

"Cathy?" Inquired Nancy at the same time that Rebecca called out. "My god, Cathy!"

Cathy glanced uncertainly back and forth between the creature behind her and her two friends. She seemed to be at a loss what to say. Finally Nancy spoke as she continued to stare warily at the creature. "Cathy, are you OK?"

Finally Catherine spoke. "Ah, Nancy, Rebecca . . . this is Vincent."

Two jaws headed straight for the floor and were only restrained by the limits of human physical nature. Then the creature spoke. "I guess you have already heard about me." Both girls felt their insides turn to jelly at the sound of his voice.

Catherine looked back at Vincent. She already knew how his voice would affect her two friends. "Vincent, I guess we've been exposed." She glanced at her father's window. "What about Dad?"

Vincent shook his head. "He's still asleep."

Catherine looked back at her friends. "Let's get inside."

Vincent glanced from Catherine to her two friends in their short teddys. "Are you sure that would be appropriate?"

Catherine became aware of Vincent's _embarrassment_ at the same time that she noticed that he had turned red under his fur. She glanced at her two friends then down at herself and was soon blushing bright red herself. "I, ah, I guess you got a point."

Vincent again embraced her then held her out by her upper arms and looked into her eyes. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yea, I'm ok now. I was having a bad dream about Mom." She replied. "You had better get out of here before someone else sees you."

To the surprise of both her friends, the creature gave her a kiss which she returned then he climbed up out of their sight. Catherine smiled at her friends. '_This should be interesting_.' She thought to herself as she followed them back into the parlor.

Once back inside, both of her friends practically pounced on her simultaneously. Both were asking questions so fast that they were running over each other and themselves. "What was that? / That was Vincent? / Where did he come from? / That is your boyfriend? / Where did you find him? / What is he?"

"Hold it! Calm down and I'll try to explain." Cathy implored her friends. Once they had quieted down, Cathy began. "First, before I tell you anything you both have to give me your solemn word that you will never tell anyone about Vincent, ever."

After a moment both girls gave their word to keep his secret. Catherine had known both girls most of their lives and she knew that they could be trusted to keep a secret once they had promised.

Catherine began by describing when, where and how she had first met Vincent. Then she told them about the way she and Vincent had become linked to each other's feelings, explaining how and why Vincent had showed up on the balcony. She explained how Vincent had used their link to help her deal with the loss of her mother. Then she told them about when her father found out about Vincent. She told them that she still couldn't tell them about where Vincent lives because that secret was critical to Vincent's survival.

For several hours the girls continued discussing Vincent, his relationship with Cathy, and her plans for their future. About an hour before the sun first peeked over the buildings the girls had finally drifted off to sleep.

_**Continued in Part 6**_

_( rev 130712 )_

* * *

'**Beauty and the Beast'** and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures. No infringement on copyrights is intended. This story is presented merely for the enjoyment of fans. Original concepts and story elements may be used by other authors as long as appropriate credit is given.


	6. Loving

**The Road Not Taken****  
**(An Alternate Universe Story)_  
By Thomas Mc_

* * *

**Part 6 : Loving**

**1974**

Jacob and Charles both studied the chessboard between them. Jacob reached out and moved a pawn then looked up at his friend. "By the way, Charles, I wanted to thank you for setting up that scholarship to that arts school for Lisa."

Charles gave the barest shrug as he shifted his knight. "It was nothing. She deserves the opportunity. Lisa has the makings of a fine dancer and with the proper training; she could possibly become one of the top in her field." He looked up at Jacob. "Has she decided what she wants to do?"

Jacob nodded. "There has never been any doubt. She has always been fascinated by the ballet since Vincent introduced her to it, and after you and Catherine took her to see Swan Lake, she was hooked." He moved a bishop. "And getting her away from the tunnels will definitely make things more peaceful around here." He grinned. "Ah ha, check."

Charles studied the board. "She does have the diva part down pat." He chuckled. "I pity the ballet director that ends up having to deal with her."

"I don't think Catherine will miss her very much." Jacob remarked. "In the last year there has developed a real rivalry between those two."

"Speaking of Catherine, I have a big favor to ask of you." Charles looked up at Jacob.

"I'll be happy to help if I can, Charles." Jacob's attention was on his friend now.

"Next weekend I have to go to Los Angeles for a week on business for one of our largest clients." Charles looked at the board for a moment then back up. "The house keeper is on vacation for two weeks and Cathy has her mid-terms next week so I wondered if you could keep an eye on her for me."

Jacob looked at Charles for a few moments then responded. "I think we can handle that. I believe she spends half her free time down here as it is." He glanced down at the chess board frowned and moved his queen. He studied the board then looked up in surprise. "That's checkmate." He frowned. "You seem to be a bit distracted. Is there something wrong?"

Charles shrugged. "It's this relationship between Catherine and Vincent." He shook his head. "I'm not quite sure how I should handle it. They have been very close friends since they first met and this bond they share is beyond my understanding." He paused a moment to gather his thoughts. "They're sixteen and seventeen now and lately their relationship has taken on very definite romantic overtones and I have no idea what effect that link of theirs may be having on all of this." He shook his head. "Sometimes I wonder if they have any idea what they are getting themselves into. I'm not too old to remember what it was like at that age with the raging hormones and the teenage drama. I don't want either of them to get hurt and I'm so afraid that if this relationship falls apart, it could lead to disaster."

Jacob sighed and nodded his head. "I have also noticed the same developments. Vincent insists that they are both just good friends but I have noticed the way they seem to hold hands a lot and the way they look at each other." He looked closely at Charles. "I just don't see much future for them. Vincent could never live in her world and despite all the time she spends down here I don't think she could be happy living 'Below'." He shook his head frowning. "I fear what the inevitable breakup will do to both of them . . . especially when you throw that link or bond or whatever it is into the mix. As you said, the results could be devastating."

Charles sighed. "What worries me the most isn't their differences, I've come to accept that, or even the potential for disaster if it falls apart, which I think Cathy would fight tooth and nail to prevent. What bathers me most is the feeling that whatever happens with those two is already totally out of our hands."

Jacob nodded his agreement with his friend's evaluation then he shrugged and stood up. "Why don't we go find Lisa and tell her the good news about the scholarship?" He nodded his head as he retrieved his cane. "If I know Lisa, she's probably down in the Great Hall, practicing as usual."

Charles stood up and smiled. "At least Lisa is a situation that we still have some influence over." The two men exited the library and headed for the back way down to the great hall.

~ o ~

The music from Catherine's portable stereo filled the empty hall as Lisa continued to dance. Soon Catherine and Vincent were both caught up in the experience. As they stood across the empty hall and watched Lisa dancing Catherine and Vincent were both struck by her beauty and grace. Catherine envied that grace that Lisa seemed to display with unconscious ease. Catherine looked up at Vincent's unique leonine face for a moment then held out her arms in invitation. With a courtly bow Vincent entered her arms and they began to dance. Soon they were both oblivious of Lisa as their attention became completely centered on each other.

"Come dance with me." Vincent was taken by surprise as Lisa grabbed his arm and pulled him away from Catherine.

Catherine cried out in surprise and pain. Vincent stared at her in horror as her pain shot through him, and he caught a glimpse of tears in Catherine's eyes and the torn and bloody shoulder of her dress. Lisa glanced at Catherine in annoyance. Vincent turned away in anger and disgust at what he had done.

"Vincent!" Lisa grabbed his arm and tried to pull him away. She seemed totally oblivious to Catherine's injury. Vincent roared as he yanked his arm from Lisa's grip causing her to fall and crack her elbow on the hard floor of the great chamber. She cried out.

Catherine threw her arms around Vincent. "Vincent, it's OK. It was just an accident."

Father and Charles both came rushing up from the direction of the back stairs at that moment. Father caught a glimpse of the back of Catherine's shoulder. "Vincent what have you done?"

Catherine turned her attention on Father and responded hotly. "It wasn't his fault." She then glared momentarily at Lisa. "It wasn't anybody's fault." She returned her attention to Vincent. "It was just an accident."

Father grabbed Vincent's shoulder and looked into his pained eyes. "Vincent why don't you go to your chamber. We'll talk about this later." He faced Charles. "First, let's get the girls to the infirmary."

Charles and Jacob escorted both girls up to the tunnel community infirmary chamber. Lisa had skinned her elbow but the damage was minimal and Charles carefully bandaged her injury while Jacob attended to Catherine's wounds.

Jacob carefully peeled the torn part of her shirt away from her damaged shoulder and gently cleaned away the blood. Catherine winced twice but said nothing. After a quick examination of the damage Jacob breathed a sigh of relief. "Not as bad as I feared. It looks like he just barely caught you."

"Vincent didn't hurt me!" Catherine's eyes blazed as she responded with some heat drawing the shocked attention of both men. "It wasn't his fault!"

Jacob glanced over and noticed Lisa leaving the infirmary then looked back into Catherine's determined eyes. "Suppose you tell me what exactly did happen."

Charles came over and stood by Jacob. Catherine gave a fairly accurate account of what had happened as Jacob treated and bandaged her shoulder. It had only required a couple of stitches on the worst of the three wounds. The fourth scratch hadn't even been deep enough to bleed.

Catherine had just finished up her report of the incident when she got a faraway look in her eyes then she exclaimed almost under her breath. "Vincent, no!" Suddenly she jumped off the exam table. "I gotta go!" She ran out of the infirmary before anyone could even react, much less say anything.

Jacob and Charles both stared at the opening that Cathy had so precipitously exited for a couple of seconds then stared at each other, both looking perplexed. Suddenly Jacob's eyes got wide. "Vincent!" Both men hastily exited the infirmary on their way to Vincent's chamber.

~ o ~

After finding Vincent's chamber empty, Charles and Jacob entered the library chamber just as the pipes were reporting that Vincent had been spotted heading towards the lower caverns. Jacob looked at Charles in dismay. This was not a good sign. The last time this had happened was shortly after Devin disappeared. They had nearly lost Vincent that time. A second later another message reported that Catherine had also been spotted heading downward.

Charles looked back at Jacob and shrugged. "Cathy will bring him back."

~ o ~

Catherine raced down the tunnels towards the lower chambers where she could feel Vincent's presence. She had felt Vincent's _anger_ and _depression_ growing then he had suddenly closed off the bond. Though she couldn't sense his emotions now, she could still feel his presence and knew that he was heading downward beyond the lower chambers. She knew she had to catch him before he lost himself in the endless unexplored caverns below the lowest chambers.

Vincent had tried to cut himself off from Catherine but he could feel her steadily catching up to him. He realized that she would continue to follow him until she caught him. He finally stopped at a junction and leaned against the tunnel wall. He pounded his fists against the rock walls in frustration. He had hurt her. He had ripped her with his claws. He roared his anguish into the darkness only to have it echoed endlessly back at him from the surrounding darkness.

Catherine had gone beyond the inhabited regions of the tunnels and pulled out the small flashlight that she had gotten into the habit of carrying whenever she came below. She had to slow down because the small flashlight wasn't very bright but she refused to turn back. She realized that Vincent had stopped moving, and his control over the bond was slipping. She could feel bits of his _anguish_ escaping past his block. He was extremely upset about what had happened.

She heard his roar echoing through the dark tunnel. A few minutes later she caught up to him. He was leaning back against the rock wall, his eyes closed, pain reflected in every line of his face. It tore at Catherine's heart to see him like this. She came up to him and placed a hand on his chest. He flinched at her touch. "Catherine, what are you doing down here?"

"I'm here to bring you back because I love you and I can't let you just go away from me."

He tried to draw away from her. "I hurt you." He looked down at his clawed hands. "These claws hurt you."

"It was nothing, Vincent . . . it was little more than a few minor scratches." Catherine grabbed his face with both hands and forced him to look at her. "You did **nothing** wrong! It was just an accident!"

"But it was my claws that caused that accident." He cried out in anguish pulling away from her.

"This is stupid!" A hot flash of _anger_ shot through her, causing him to look up, as she slapped the cave wall beside her. "Would it be that rock wall's fault if I were injured because someone threw me against it or dragged me along it?"

He looked at her shocked by the strength of her emotions.

"It was no more your fault than it would be that rock wall's fault." She continued. "I know what happened. You felt what I felt when Lisa yanked you away and you reacted instantly to protect me. So all I got out of it was a few scratches."

Catherine grabbed his shoulders, demanding his attention. "Vincent, you can never harm me. You have our bond to tell you if I am hurt and you react immediately. I'm not going to let you blame yourself for something that was not your fault. I am safer in your arms than anywhere else in the world. It's about time for you to let go of what happened with Devin. You were both children and Devin made you very angry with his mistaken accusation."

Vincent looked at her in surprise. "How do you know about that?"

"I overheard Daddy and Father talking about it once." She decided to change tact. "I love you Vincent." She threw her arms around him and held him tightly until his arms finally went around her in response. "And you love me. This bond we have makes it impossible for us to hide our feelings from each other. It ties us together more thoroughly than any lovers in history. Since I'm going to have to feel it anytime you kiss a girl, I would prefer it to be me that you're kissing." She raised her head and looked up into his eyes. "Face it Vincent. We belong together and I am not going to let you slip away from me, ever." She rose up on her tiptoes and planted a solid kiss on his very unique lips. The kiss deepened and soon they were both lost in the emotions that were passing between them.

After a short time Catherine pulled back and smiled up at Vincent. "Let's go back to the hub. I've already told Father and Daddy what happened and they both know that it wasn't anything you could help." She then grinned. "Besides Daddy told me this morning that he got that scholarship for Lisa, so she will be going off to that school for the arts very soon."

~ o ~

On their way back they met eleven year old Sammy. She also had come down after Vincent. She had always thought of Vincent as a big brother that she never had and had also come to think of Catherine as a big sister. "Vincent? Are you Ok?" Sammy asked as she saw them approach.

Vincent stopped and Catherine put her arm around him as he answered. "I'm OK, Sammy." He responded as his arm went around Catherine.

Sammy nodded as she glanced at Catherine, noticing their arms around each other. "I knew Catherine would bring you back." As she took in their attitude toward each other she was wondering if Father was aware of how close Vincent and Catherine had become. She coughed twice as she joined them on their walk back to the home tunnels.

Vincent and Catherine both looked at her in concern. "What about you Sammy?" Catherine asked. "Are you OK?"

"I'm just fine." Sammy insisted.

"You need to be careful, Sammy. You don't want to go through another bout of pneumonia like a few months ago." Vincent remarked a bit worriedly, his mind no longer on his own problems.

"Don't worry about me." Sammy responded.

~ x BB x ~

Catherine was moving quickly down the tunnel just outside of the dining chamber. She had been spending her nights below while her father was out of town on legal business for the last few days. She actually thought that she was old enough to take care of herself but she had not objected because she liked spending time with all her friends below . . . especially Vincent.

Catherine entered the dining chamber and spotted Vincent, Pascal and Sammy near the far corner. Sammy stood and waved to attract Catherine's attention. Catherine retrieved her dinner preferences from the buffet at the back of the chamber and then joined Pascal, Vincent and Sammy at their table.

"How did it go?" Sammy inquired as Catherine sat down.

Catherine grinned. "I finished my mid-terms today and I think I got all A's and B's. I can now relax for the weekend."

"Have you heard anything about when your father is coming back, yet?" Pascal asked.

"I talked to him on the phone about a half hour ago, just before I came 'Below'. He apologized for being away longer than expected but he said that he hoped to be back by the middle of next week. That is assuming that the other side didn't come up with another crisis before then."

~ x BB x ~

Catherine had sensed a hint of _excitement_ and _mischievousness_ permeating Vincent's emotions since about an hour before she had arrived below after school. Shortly after dinner he had dropped her off at her guest chamber then with a kiss he had left. She knew he was up to something. Then she had spotted the red rose and the note on the low dresser next to the bed. She had picked up the rose and breathed in its fragrance as she read the short note.

**I have a new discovery to show you.  
I will be by to get you around the  
eleventh hour. Bring swimwear. **

**~ Vincent ~**

Catherine had a brand new bathing suit that she had bought on impulse a week before her father had left on his business trip and had brought it below with her but she had yet to get up enough courage to wear it. In fact no one had seen it yet including her father. She pulled the new 'French bikini' out of the bottom of her drawer and stared at it. She felt her cheeks grow warm as she looked it over. She glanced over her shoulder then hurriedly dropped the tapestry across the chamber opening. Finally screwing up her courage, she stripped down and put on the bikini. When she looked at herself in the mirror she was surprised at how revealing it really was and blushed all the way down. She started to change her mind then stopped herself. She had bought this thing specifically for Vincent and, Damn-it, she was not going to chicken out now.

She slipped her 'tunnel chic' clothing on over her brand new bathing suit then she re-read Vincent's cryptic note. Vincent was in for a big surprise. She smiled to herself as she imagined his reaction when he saw her.

Right at eleven o'clock Catherine felt Vincent's approach, and stepped out of her chamber into Vincent's waiting arms. She could see in his eyes as well as feel in his emotions the _curiosity_ that was running through him, probably as a result of her tumultuous emotions of a short while ago. She smiled enigmatically at him then closed the distance between their lips in a passionate kiss. After a long moment they broke. "Well I'm ready." She grinned at him. "Lead the way."

~ o ~

Within a short time, Vincent had led her into a very old tunnel that she had never seen before and judging by its look of dusty disuse, no one else had seen it before either. Vincent pulled out a torch from the backpack he was carrying to light their way through the darkening tunnel. A short distance later they came to a slightly smaller than door sized opening and Vincent led her through it into a chamber that was about one-and-a-half times the size of most of the occupied chambers in the hub. The walls of the chamber glittered with embedded quartz and mica in the wavering light from Vincent's torch.

Vincent pulled one of the large twelve hour candles that were marked in hour bands and, setting it on the floor, lit it and put out his torch. Then he pulled out several large blankets and laid them out on the stone floor. He set a small package of light snacks beside the blankets.

Finally he took out a smaller candle and lit it from the big one. "This way." He took her hand and led her to a narrow crevice in the far wall of the chamber. As they approached the crevice she thought she heard the faint sound of flowing water. Taking off the back pack and pushing it before him, Vincent began to squeeze through the opening. "Be careful here; it's a bit tight."

It may have been pretty tight for Vincent but Catherine's petite frame passed through the opening quite easily. Then she gazed around in wonder as Vincent quickly began lighting dozens of candles scattered around the new smaller chamber.

This chamber was just slightly smaller than one of the standard home chambers that made up the occupied hub. At the far right water was flowing out of a small opening in the wall and ran down a short rocky slope into a large pool that took up nearly two-thirds of the chamber. The sound of the miniature waterfall combined with the way the flickering candlelight sparkled back at them from the mineral laden walls and the faint mist that hovered over the pool gave the whole scene a magical feel.

Catherine dipped her finger in the water and found that it was quite warm. "You've found a natural hot tub." She remarked as she grinned up at Vincent.

Vincent Pulled a couple of towels out of his pack then turned to her. "Would you like to join me in the pool?"

They both stripped down to their bathing attire then Vincent got his first look at Catherine in her new bikini. His jaw dropped and his face turned red enough to be visible through his fur, even in candlelight. Women's underwear covered more than the tiny thing she was wearing. Catherine clearly felt his emotional reaction to her outfit and grinned even as she blushed nearly from head to toe. Vincent couldn't take his eyes away from her as Catherine grabbed his hand and pulled him into the pool.

Catherine reveled in the feel of the very warm water gently flowing against her skin as well as the passionate emotions from Vincent that flowed against her mind. "Oh, Vincent this feels heavenly." She exclaimed in a soft breathy voice.

It wasn't long before they were in each other's arms and the passion began to rise within them as they kissed and caressed. The feel of her skin beneath his hands and the emotions it produced in her drove his passion to levels he had never reached before. The feel of his soft fur against her skin and the emotions she felt building in him drove her passions to levels she had never experienced before. Things were rapidly getting pretty hot and heavy as they continued to make out in the warm sensuous water of the pool.

The irresistible power of the other's desires combined with their own raging hormones was more than either of them could withstand. The minimal swimwear they had been wearing was soon discarded. Their passions rose like the unstoppable tide as the bond between them seemed to expand and strengthen. They were soon feeling each other's physical sensations as well as their emotions and desires which now seemed to be endlessly reflected between them like a hall of mirrors. They merged physically and emotionally until even their hearts were beating in unison. Then there was an explosion of unbearable ecstasy that echoed endlessly between them as it continued to spiral out of control.

Some indefinable time later rational awareness slowly began to return as they became aware that they were both firmly wrapped around each other and partially buoyed by the warm water of the natural pool.

Vincent and Catherine both moaned as they gazed into each other's eyes then Vincent realized that they were still connected and he reluctantly withdrew from inside her. "Catherine, I, ah . . . I didn't mean for it to go that far."

Catherine sighed softly as she gazed lovingly into Vincent's remarkable blue eyes. "I never thought it could be like that." She smiled softly as she radiated _loving_, _sated_ _contentment_ that washed over Vincent through their bond, leaving him breathless. "That was incredible!" For a moment Vincent was again lost in the wash of emotions that radiated from her as she tightened her embrace. "I love you Vincent."

Her words sent shockwaves through him drawing out a response. "I love you too, Catherine."

After a while they regained the use of their limbs and finally got out of the pool. The sight of Catherine's body as she retrieved the towels hit him like a bolt of lightning and his body reacted, which, to his chagrin, Catherine noticed with a bit of a giggle. "Ooo, Vincent again, already?" Vincent blushed hotly as she tossed him the other towel with another giggle.

After drying off, Vincent looked around unsuccessfully for his clothes. "Where did all our clothes go?" He looked back at Catherine and was immediately entranced by the sight of her nude body as she stood there with her arms behind her back. She was blushing bright read and Vincent detected a strong streak of _mischief_ coming from her. Then he realized that she had his clothes in her hands.

"They're right here if you really want them." She grinned shyly as she backed through the opening to the other chamber.

By the time he had squeezed through that opening, Catherine was stretched out on the blankets, her arms held out invitingly. He kneeled beside her. "Uh, Catherine, I, ah, I know Father doesn't think I can have kids but, ah, this might not be the, ah, wisest thing . . ."

Catherine shook her head. "Not to worry. Doctor Peter put me on the pill almost a year ago to 'try and regulate my erratic cycles' as he put it." She grinned. "You're safe for now." She again held out her arms invitingly and he surrendered to the irresistible rising tide.

_**Continued in Part 7**_

_( rev 130712 )_

* * *

'**Beauty and the Beast'** and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures. No infringement on copyrights is intended. This story is presented merely for the enjoyment of fans. Original concepts and story elements may be used by other authors as long as appropriate credit is given.


	7. College

**The Road Not Taken****  
**(An Alternate Universe Story)_  
By Thomas Mc_

* * *

**Part 7 : College**

**Summer 1976**

Vincent and Catherine were talking about their future plans as they were exploring the unknown tunnel that Vincent had discovered just two days ago. ". . . Just two more months 'til I start my first semester at Radcliffe." She paused as she gazed wistfully at Vincent. "I haven't even left yet and I'm already starting to miss you." Catherine began feeling just a tiny bit misty-eyed at the prospect. "You have become so much a part of my life."

Vincent gently caressed her cheek. "You may be in Boston but we will still be together, here." He touched her over her heart. As long as we have our bond we will be together."

"I know but it's not the same. I will still be able to feel you . . ." She reached out and touched his chest. ". . . but I wont be able to reach out and touch you." She grabbed his hand and drew it up to her cheek, closing her eyes. ". . . to feel your fur against my skin." She opened her eyes and looked into his. "I will miss your touch."

He cupped her cheek with his hand. "And I will miss your touch as well." He took both her hands in his as his look turned serious. "You just be careful around all those hot blooded college boys."

She caressed his cheek and smiled. "You jealous?" Her voice took on a teasing tone.

He tilted his head and gazed into her eyes a moment. "Maybe a bit. They will be from your world and they will be able to give you so much that I can not." He paused a moment. "I know how limiting my life is and sometimes I fear that I might lose you to a man from your world that can give you all those things that I can't."

Her face became serious as she responded. "None of those guys from my world can hold a candle to you. They may be able to give me things . . ." She took his hand and pressed it against her chest. ". . . but none of them can touch my soul the way you can." Her eyes began to sparkle as she continued. "And nothing can match what it feels like when we make love."

He opened his mouth to reply then paused with furrowed brow . He cocked his head. "I hear something." He shifted his head slightly listening. "This way." He took her hand and headed down a smaller tunnel that branched off from the one they were in. Soon Catherine could hear the faint roar of water falling.

The sound got rapidly louder until they passed through an opening and found themselves on a ledge overlooking the waterfall lake. The ledge that they were on was located high up on the rocky wall of the cavern, halfway between the waterfall on the left and the familiar sandy beach on the right. The slightly bowel shaped ledge was about twenty feet long and eight feet wide at its widest. The rock wall jutted outward at the point where the tunnel opening was located.

Catherine looked around in surprise as she recognized where they were. "I've been to this cavern several time and I never realized this spot was here." She glanced around. "It's a beautiful view up here."

Vincent peered down at the beach below and off to the left. "There is no way that you could see this ledge from down there." He looked around at the view then looked back at Catherine. "This would be a perfect place for a little romantic encounter." He cocked his head as he gazed at her the desires aroused by their earlier conversation were still churning and gaining strength.

Catherine could feel the shift in Vincent's emotions and with a smile moved into his arms. "Sounds good to me." She leaned in and their lips met as her own emotional needs quickly gained strength.

Soon their clothes were scattered along that rocky ledge as they put the concept of romantic encounter into practice.

~ x x x x x ~

Vincent could feel Catherine's _disquiet_ as he made his way down the side of the building toward her balcony. He was pretty sure he knew what she was upset about. They had just gotten word in the tunnels about Mitch. That was why he had decided to come to her. Catherine came out onto the balcony just as Vincent dropped down onto it.

Catherine spoke first. "I'm sorry to hear about Mitch. I know how much you wanted to help him for his father's sake but I just couldn't keep quiet. I had to tell Father what I knew and then Father had no choice but to banish him from the tunnels. After that it was just a matter of time. Daddy told me that the police finally connected Mitch with the stabbing of that police officer, Joseph Maxwell, four years ago and arrested him. The prosecutor is going to try to put him away for a very long time." She looked up into Vincent's eyes.

"It's not your fault, Catherine. You only did what was right, what you had to do. Mitch made his own bed; now he has to lie in it." He took her hand. "You once told me that it wasn't my fault if someone was too foolish to accept our help and Mitch was full of foolish, selfish, anger. He tended to blame everyone but himself for his problems."

"I can't help thinking about that policeman's son and daughter. His boy is also named Joseph and is about my age. He also had a daughter that is only two years younger than me. I know how it feels to lose a parent. Daddy said that he feels bad that it was someone from below that killed him and he wants to try to help his kids."

"I understand and I'm glad that your father will be able to help that man's children." Vincent decided to change the subject. "When do you leave for college?"

Catherine paused a moment, grateful for the change of subject, as she shifted gears. "I leave for Boston the day after tomorrow." The thought made her feel both _excited_ and _sad_ at the same time. "I've already got my dorm room and my class schedule."

Vincent wrapped his arms around her and hugged her close. "It's going to be a long four months."

She looked longingly up into his eyes. "That getaway suite you and Winslow have been making out of those two isolated chambers you found is almost finished." Her eyes began to sparkle. "How about if I come there tomorrow morning after Daddy leaves for work and we can make the most of the short time we have left."

~ x x x x x ~

**Fall 1976**

It had been a week since classes started and Catherine and her friends were still trying unsuccessfully to get their larger than usual dorm room organized. Catherine looked around the less than neat dorm room then back at the young woman that she had invited over. "Well, Jenny, this is the place." She turned toward the door as her two best friends entered the dorm room. "Nancy, Rebecca, this is Jenny Aronson, the girl I told you about. Jenny, these two troublemakers are my best friends and partners in crime Nancy Wilson and Rebecca Jennings."

"Welcome Jenny." Nancy greeted her with a smile. "Cathy told us that you needed a place to crash. And we do happen to have room for one more."

"I really appreciate this guys. My literature scholarship barely covers my expenses without having to pay for housing. I was beginning to wonder if I could live out of my car just to spare my parents the extra expense." She shrugged. "Most of the people I have encountered don't want to have anything to do with me."

Catherine responded. "This is a fairly elite school and I'm afraid it is full of elitist snobs that look down on scholarship students." She shook her head. "My parents always insisted that you treat others based on who they are inside, not what their bank account says or who their parents happen to be."

"Well thanks anyway." Jenny glanced around at the four beds, all of which had random stuff piled in them, then looked back at Cathy. "Where do I sleep?"

Cathy glanced quickly over at one of the beds. "Oh, sorry." She went over to that bed and grabbed an armful of stuff. "This is your bed. I'm afraid we are still getting organized." She shrugged as she dumped the stuff on another bed. "Which is sometimes hard to do when you're as messy as we three are occasionally."

Nancy went over and grabbed the rest of the stuff on the bed in question then dumped it on one of the other beds. "We try not to be too messy but sometimes it does get out of hand."

Cathy pointed to a small dresser next to the just cleared bed. "This dresser and bed are yours." She smiled at Jenny. "I think we will become good friends this semester."

~ x x x x x ~

It was the middle of the afternoon and Jenny was sitting in the library with her three dorm mates when she glanced up from her homework and noticed that Cathy had again zoned out. She glanced over at Nancy and Rebecca and saw that they were also aware of Cathy's state.

Jenny had seen this happen several times in the two months she had been sharing their dorm room with them. Each time it happened Cathy would smile contentedly while appearing oblivious of everything around her. It usually only happened in the dorm room during the late evening and was always short lived, a few seconds at the most, and so subtle that most people would never notice it. Cathy seemed to suffer no harm from those incidents and became instantly alert if something else demanded her attention.

~ o ~

The only reason Jenny noticed the way Cathy would occasionally zone out, was because she had always been particularly sensitive to those around her. She had also always been able to instantly and accurately judge the character of those around her.

The first time it had happened She had inquired, "Cathy?" in concern. Cathy had blinked twice and looked at her, answering with a simple "Yes?".

The third time it happened Rebecca had been in the room with them and she had asked her. "Is Cathy OK?"

Rebecca glanced at Cathy. "Oh that's just Cathy. It's nothing."

Cathy then glanced at them confused. "What?"

They both seemed to act as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened and refused to elaborate. Jenny had sensed no malice in any of her room mates so she had let the subject drop though she still continued to notice the various anomalies.

~ o ~

Since then Jenny had just come to accept these momentary spells thought she continued to be curious. This was the first time it had happened in such a public place and, unlike all the previous occasions, this time Cathy was very upset. Suddenly Cathy bolted from the library. Jenny looked over at Nancy and Rebecca. They both looked at each other in concerned surprise. Rebecca barely voiced the name 'Vincent' then they both also bolted from the library.

Jenny stared after them in surprise wondering what had happened. After a few seconds she gathered up her dorm mates' books, that they had left behind in their haste, and headed out the door.

By the time she arrived at their dorm room, Cathy was pacing like a caged lion looking very upset. Nancy and Rebecca were both watching her with worried looks on their faces. Jenny set their books on their desks and quietly sat on her bed and watched the other three while wondering what was up. Twice she opened her mouth to ask what was going on but the intense atmosphere in the room, the look of worry on the faces of all three and the way they all three were so fixated on the silent phone led her to believe that any interruption would be unwelcome so she held her tongue.

After a about fifteen minutes the phone rang and Cathy practically pounced on it.

"Daddy, what happened?" . . .  
"What about Vincent?" . . .  
Cathy's whole attitude shifted from extreme agitation to extreme relief.  
"What did Father say?" . . .  
"Tell him that I'm praying for them, and let me know as soon as they get through." . . .  
"OK. I love you Daddy. Bye." . . .

She hung up the phone.

Nancy was the first to speak. "Is he OK?"

Catherine smiled and nodded. "He's OK, but he is worried about some trapped children."

Rebecca glanced at the clock. "It's late. We have to get to class." She grabbed her books and ran out the door.

Cathy and Nancy were right behind her. Jenny looked after them a bit nonplussed. She apparently was not going to get an explanation any time soon. With a shrug she grabbed up her books and headed for class.

By the time she got back to the dorm room that evening all she could get out of her dorm mates was that there had been some type of emergency and Cathy's dad would probably call her with details later. It was obvious to her that they knew a lot more than they were telling but they were not going to let her in on the secret.

One thing she was sure of was that there was a lot more going on with those times that Cathy zoned out than they were telling and there was someone named Vincent involved in the big secret.

That evening after they had all climbed into bed Jenny glanced over and noticed that Cathy was in that zoned out state again only this time it lasted for a very long time.

~ x x x x x ~

**Spring 1977**

Jenny entered the commons and spotted her three dorm mates in a small knot of people huddled around a table. She approached them and discovered that they were discussing a newspaper article about a relatively recent tall tale of a lion-man creature that was supposed to haunt Central Park.

"I bet it's just an old lion that escaped from the Central Park Zoo." Remarked John.

"That's a bunch of hogwash." Responded Clark. "We would've heard about it if a lion escaped from the zoo."

"Several people claim to have seen it in the park late at night." Reported Crystal.

Jenny remembered hearing a few rumors about the creature under discussion the last couple of years before she had come to Boston. She tended to be fairly open-minded but she seriously doubted that such a creature really existed.

"The whole thing sounds a bit unlikely to me." Added Cathy.

The odd thing was that Jenny could swear that Cathy was holding something back like she knew more than she was saying. She wondered if Cathy might know someone who saw it or maybe she had seen something herself.

~ x x x x x ~

**Fall 1977**

After just over a year at Radcliffe Jenny had become very good friends with her three room-mates. Jenny was walking with Nancy between classes when she glanced over at her and asked the question that had been nagging her since about two months after she met her three dorm mates and newest friends. "Nancy, who is Vincent?" She gazed at her relatively new friend expectantly.

Nancy was so startled by the question that she nearly stumbled over her own feet. "Um, ah, I ah. He is a friend of Cathy's from back home. Ah, why do you ask?"

Jenny took a couple of moments to respond. "It's just that all three of you seem to know him yet you almost never talk about him, especially when someone else is around like me. The only reason I know the name is because I've overheard it on a couple of occasions and I've noticed the letters that Cathy gets occasionally and caught a glimpse of the signature once." Jenny thought a moment as she looked over at Nancy, gauging her reactions then she added. "I am also pretty sure that those times when Cathy zones out are somehow connected to Vincent." Jenny was certain that she had somehow scored a couple of direct hits in her suppositions.

Nancy frowned down at the ground as she took several seconds to decide how to respond. "Well, ah, he is kinda Cathy's secret." She glanced over at Jenny. "I can't really say anything about him."

"Well this is my class." Jenny remarked stopping by the doorway. She could tell how nervous Nancy was about the subject of Vincent. "See you after class."

Jenny frowned as she entered the classroom. She had been sharing a dorm-room with them for thirteen months now. They were very nice people and she really liked and trusted all three of them but there was definitely something unusual up with them about this Vincent character. She had no real information to go on but she was almost positive that Cathy and Vincent were lovers. She was really curious about all the secrecy that seemed to surround him.

~ x x x x x ~

**Spring 1978**

Nancy and Jenny entered the commons after English Literature class. Cathy and Rebecca were already there talking to a couple of very nice looking young men. One of them was Aaron Bryant, Rebecca's current object of interest. The other one was unfamiliar. Although the other young man appeared to be with Cathy, and they seemed to be on friendly terms, Jenny could tell that there was no romantic interest between them.

As they approached Cathy spoke up. "Jenny, Nancy, I would like you to meet Paul Tucker. Paul is in my Political Science class. Paul, these are my friends, Jenny Aronson and Nancy Wilson."

They exchanged greetings. Jenny noticed that an almost palpable attraction seemed to form between Paul and Nancy the instant they looked at each other. Not that she blamed Nancy. She thought Paul was a very nice person and he was quite handsome. She smiled to herself. This held a lot of potential and she had a soft spot for romantic stories.

As Jenny watched Nancy and Paul talking, she noticed that Cathy was also aware of what was happening and was smiling. Then she noticed Cathy zone out momentarily which reminded Jenny of her speculations about Cathy and the mysterious Vincent.

~ x x x x x ~

It was a week before finals and Rebecca's older brother, Buddy Jennings, had stopped by to visit Rebecca. Jenny could see that he was more than a little interested in Cathy. Cathy however did not seem to return his interest which, Jenny suspected, had a lot to do with, the never seen, Vincent.

Buddy was sitting next to Cathy. "There's a good movie, 'Grease', playing at the Paramount."

"It sounds nice but I'm afraid that I've got some serious studying to do tonight." Cathy responded.

Jenny knew that Cathy was doing so well in school that she had no need for any heavy studying. To her it was obvious that Cathy was not interested but didn't want to hurt his feelings.

"You still trying to hit on Cathy?" Rebecca commented with a laugh. "You may as well give it up."

"Hey, as my sister you're supposed to be fixing me up with your friends." Buddy responded with a frown.

"Actually as your sister I feel I should discourage you from dating my friends." Retorted Rebecca, grinning back at him.

Nancy and Jenny both laughed at that exchange. Nancy informed Jenny that this had been a continuing debate between Buddy and Rebecca since high school though buddy had never seriously pursued any of Rebecca's friends.

Paul came into the dorm's common room, and came straight over to Nancy, putting his arm around her shoulder.

"What's shakin'?" He inquired.

Jenny glanced at Paul and Nancy and thought that those two made a couple that had a real future together.

~ x x x x x ~

**Fall 1978**

Jenny and Cathy had been out doing a little shopping. They got back to the dorm a bit late and loaded down with packages. Nearly half of the packages were for Cathy's three dorm mates. Jenny frowned at the new flower arrangement sitting on the table as she and Cathy entered their dorm-room.

Rebecca spoke up from her bed where she was doing some homework reading. "Another delivery from Steven Bass."

Cathy looked over at the flowers in exasperation. "Again? Can't that guy take a hint?" She shook her head. "I've told him that I am not interested and he keeps pushing."

Jenny remarked. "I don't trust that guy. There's just something about him that worries me."

"He's annoyingly persistent but I don't think he's dangerous." Catherine responded.

"He may be a pest but the flowers are very nice." Nancy remarked.

Cathy responded. "I do wish he would give up." She looked over at the flowers. "But the flowers are pretty." She picked up the card, glanced at it shrugged and dropped it in the trash. "He just won't give up but he hasn't done anything illegal or broken any of the school rules. All I can do for now is just ignore him and hope he will eventually get a clue."

"Does he know about Vincent?" Jenny asked out of the blue.

Cathy and Rebecca looked at Jenny in surprise as they both reacted. "What?" Jenny thought she caught just a hint of fear along with the surprise on Cathy's face.

"Just tell him that you have already got a guy." Jenny continued.

"Vincent has nothing to do with this." Cathy retorted a bit sharply. She glanced quickly at Rebecca who shook her head almost imperceptibly.

"What about my brother." Rebecca jumped in. "He would be happy to play boyfriend for you."

"He would be happy to **be** your boyfriend." Added Jenny. "I don't think that would be a good idea."

"I don't have to have a guy in order to tell another guy that I'm not interested." Cathy responded with some heat. "If I don't want to go out with the guy, that should be enough."

"Of course you don't." Jenny added hastily. "But I just don't think Bass will accept anything else." She shrugged.

"Enough of that twerp." Cathy declared. "Is Nancy still out with Paul?"

"Where else would she be?" Rebecca responded with a giggle.

"Let's try on some new clothes." Cathy added as she started handing out some of the new clothes she had just purchased. "I saw this and it just screamed, 'Rebecca needs me'. Who was I to refuse."

Rebecca giggled as Cathy handed her a skirt and top that was perfect for her.

_**Continued in Part 8**_

* * *

'**Beauty and the Beast'** and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures. No infringement on copyrights is intended. This story is presented merely for the enjoyment of fans. Original concepts and story elements may be used by other authors as long as appropriate credit is given.


	8. Kidnapped

**The Road Not Taken****  
**(An Alternate Universe Story)_  
By Thomas Mc_

* * *

**Part 8 : ****Kidnapped**

**Spring 1979**

Catherine was leaving the library on her way back to her dorm room. It was the beginning of mid-terms week and she had been in the library reviewing for them. She had been able to keep a high GPA and she had no intention of letting it drop. She had to keep her GPA up if she wanted to go to Columbia Law School after graduation. For her Tuition would not be a problem.

It was a pleasant spring evening and she was enjoying the walk. She was also projecting her love to Vincent and feeling his response. Lately they had been talking a lot about the possibility of getting married immediately after she graduated from Radcliffe. The only hitch was that, once she started law school, all of her time would be devoted to getting her law degree, and she just wasn't sure if that would be fair to Vincent. It would be tough being married to a wife that you wouldn't see for two years.

Catherine was startled by a dark figure that appeared out of nowhere. Then there was a flash of fear then pain then the world went away.

~ o ~

Vincent had just returned from the basement of Jonathans Deli where he had been picking up this weeks leftover unsold food that was destined to end up in whatever concoction William was going to produce for tomorrow's lunch and dinner. He was now in a small chamber of the lower caverns, that was normally much colder than normal because of the ice cold spring that passed through it, helping William unload the food.

He was also enjoying the projections of love Catherine had just started sending him and was returning them in kind. Suddenly there was _surprise_, _fear_, _pain_ then nothing. The sudden intensity of the emotions staggered him, causing him to lose his grip on the crate he was lifting

William glanced over at the sound of the dropped crate and noticed the change in Vincent's demeanor. "Vincent, what's wrong?"

Vincent looked over at William, still a bit stunned and shaken. "It's Catherine. Something has happened to her."

"Is she OK?" William asked, concerned.

"I don't know." Vincent replied shaking his head. "She's not conscious."

William could see how disturbed Vincent was and placed his hand on his friends shoulder. "Why don't you go back up to the hub? I can finish up here." William was very fond of Catherine and now he was worried.

Vincent headed straight to Father's study. There he told Father what he had felt and the two of them tried to figure out what to do. Then Vincent felt Catherine regain consciousness. She was definitely in danger. Vincent knew he had to do something and he immediately headed 'Above' as fast as he could move. He ended up back in Jonathon's Deli. He had to find out what had happened.

~ o ~

Nancy glanced at her watch. "It's after eight." She shook her head looking over at Rebecca. "Where is she? I thought she said she would be back by eight."

Both girls looked over at the door as Jenny rushed into the dorm-room. "Where's Cathy? Is she OK?" Worry was clearly evident on her face.

"What are you talking about?' Rebecca asked. "She's at the library studying for finals."

"No she's not. I don't know why but I was suddenly worried about her so I went by the library." Jenny looked around uncertainly. "I have a very bad feeling about this."

The phone rang and Nancy picked it up. "Hello." . . .

"Vincent?" . . .

"No, she isn't here." . . .

"What?" . . .

"OK. I'll let you know as soon as we find something out." . . .

She hung up the phone, worry was clearly showing on her face now.

After a second to gather her thoughts Nancy spoke. "That was Vincent. Cathy's in trouble." Nancy glanced at Jenny for a moment then looked over at Rebecca. "Vincent said that about an hour ago Catherine had been concentrating hard on something then a couple of minutes after she stopped concentrating, she was very surprised and afraid then she was unconscious. She just woke up a few minutes ago and she is very afraid and disoriented."

Rebecca was staring at Nancy. "Did he have any idea where Cathy is?"

Nancy shook her head. "All he can tell is that she's still somewhere in Boston. He said that he's too far away for him to get a more accurate fix on her. "

Jenny was staring incredulously at her two dorm mates. This conversation didn't make sense. She finally pulled herself together. Despite the absurdity of what they were saying Jenny knew that they believed every word of it, so she had to accept it and go from there. Suddenly inspiration hit. "It has to be Steven Bass." She blurted out. "I'm sure it's him. If Cathy was attacked an hour ago, shortly after she stopped studying, then it had to have happened near the library."

"Should we call the police?" Rebecca asked gazing at Nancy uncertainly.

"How do we explain that we know where and when she was attacked?" Nancy asked.

"I'm kinda wondering the same thing." Jenny remarked as she stared at the two others in an implied request for an explanation.

Nancy and Rebecca both looked over at Jenny then after a second Nancy answered. "Cathy and Vincent have . . . ah . . . a kind of connection." She shrugged. Neither girl appeared to be about to elaborate any further on that statement.

They stared at each other for several minutes trying to come up with some kind of plan. Jenny called a classmate and found out that Steven was not in his dorm room and no one had seen him all day. Jenny had already established that Cathy wasn't at the library. Several minutes later they had decided that they would have to call the police and just make up some explanation of how they knew when and where the attack had happened. Nancy was reaching for the phone when it rang.

"Hello." . . .

"Mr. Chandler?" . . .

"We don't know for sure but we suspect that she was grabbed by a boy named Steven Bass." . . .

"What!" . . . Nancy was so surprised that she nearly dropped the phone.

"But is that safe?" . . .

"I guess it is the best way to find her, but it seems so risky." . . .

Nancy looked over at Jenny. "Ah, Jenny's here with us." . . .

"She knows that Vincent exists." . . .

"No, she doesn't know anything else about him." . . .

"I know Cathy has thought about it. They have become very close friends. We've all become very close." . . .

Nancy was gazing at Jenny while talking as though evaluating her, judging her.

"I think she can handle it." . . .

"Yes, I think she can be trusted. I think Cathy has told you about her family's background." . . .

"OK, we'll see you when you get here. Bye." . . .

Nancy hung up the phone. On her face was a look that could best be described as shell shock.

"Well?" Jenny inquired insistently when Nancy didn't say anything right away.

Nancy shook herself. "Cathy's father called from the airport. He is flying up here in a friend's private jet. He said he would be here in about an hour and a half." She swallowed and shook her head. "He's bringing Vincent with him."

"What!" Rebecca exclaimed looking just as surprised as Nancy had. "How did he do it?"

"He didn't say. He did say that he would call us when he reached Boston. He also told me not to call the police unless there is a new development that gives us a reason to." Nancy shook her head. "I can't believe it." Then she faced Jenny and shrugged. "It looks like you're going to finally meet Vincent."

~ o ~

As the on-call pilot for Mr. Bradford, Trent had made many unusual trips for him but this one was even more unusual than most. He was used to the no curiosity aspect of his job but he had never been outright barred from leaving the cockpit while the passengers were on board. He had caught a momentary glimpse of his three passengers as they had come aboard and recognized Mr. Chandler. The black man had not been familiar to him and the third person had been completely covered by a long hooded cloak. Probably some big celebrity. But why this urgent rush?

Under any other circumstance Vincent would have been thoroughly enjoying this new adventure, but all he could think about was Catherine and her fear. It had been about an hour since they had left New York and Catherine's _fear_ was now accompanied by a streak of _disgust_ which was slowly shifting toward _determination_. Vincent suspected that she was working on some method of escape.

Charles looked on in concern, afraid to ask what could be happening to his daughter and concerned by the reactions he was seeing in Vincent. He was grateful to his friend and major client Mathew Bradford for allowing him the use of this Learjet and it's pilot. He glanced at the closed cockpit door hoping that the pilot would stick to his orders not to enter the passenger cabin while the passengers were onboard. Charles glanced over at Winslow who was also watching Vincent with concern.

Suddenly Vincent felt the _fear_ spike followed by a surge of _disgust_. He shot up out of his seat and, clenching his fist tight enough to puncture his palms, began pacing furiously in the short center aisle of the Learjet. Five minutes later Catherine's emotions shifted to _relief_ and _determination_ with a bit of lingering _disgust_. Vincent relaxed with a sigh of relief. Catherine appeared to have forestalled an attack and seemed to be OK for the time being. He felt Catherine's _awareness_ of his presence on the link then there was _surprise_ combined with _confusion_ followed by a jump in her _determination_.

About thirty minutes from their destination, Trent's curiosity had finally got the better of him. He had been instructed not to go into the passenger cabin but no one said he couldn't look. He set the autopilot and moved over to the cabin door and peered through the door's view-port. The large hooded person was sitting in the second starboard swivel chair facing away from the cockpit.

Suddenly without warning the hooded man shot up out of his seat. He was enormous, at least six and a half feet. His head brushed the ceiling knocking the hood back and exposing a thick mass of golden blond hair as he strode toward the back of the plane. Then the large person turned around and Trent jumped back, nearly falling over the pilot's chair. Impossible! Such things didn't exist! He recovered and again looked through the view-port, getting another shock. The creature, whatever it was, had strode nearly up to the cabin door. The creature appeared to be half man – half lion and Trent was very glad that there was a metal door between it and him. The creature reversed and strode back toward the rear of the plane.

After watching the creature pacing for a couple of minutes Trent returned to the pilot's seat. He wondered if he should say something to someone, but who would believe him. Better to hold his tongue and keep his pilot's license. For the rest of the flight a phrase from an old TV show, he used to watch, kept running through his mind . . . "I see nothing, I hear nothing, I know nothing."

~ o ~

Catherine had managed to fight off Steven's rather pitiful attempted rape and she was now locked in a bedroom. It was good that Steven had been such an inexperienced and inept rapist or things could have been so much worse. She shivered. She was sure that the current situation wouldn't last for very long and next time Steven probably would be more determined and more dangerous. He seemed to be unable to accept that she wasn't interested in him. She had to find a way to escape or call for help before he could work himself up for another attempt. She started pacing, mulling over her options, considering ways that she could trick him or catch him off guard.

She paused a moment as she became aware of Vincent's presence over their bond. This didn't make sense. It felt like he was rapidly getting closer. She now became desperate to find a way to escape before Vincent arrived. She was very worried now that he would risk being discovered in order to get to her. She couldn't let him walk into danger on her account.

~ o ~

Jenny, Nancy and Rebecca were waiting outside of their dorm for Cathy's father. He had called about ten minutes ago to tell them that he and Vincent had arrived and would be there soon to pick them up. Jenny was still trying to digest what the two girls had told her. The whole idea of a lion-man was totally ridiculous yet she could tell that both girls believed what they had been telling her.

Jenny was interrupted from her musings when they spotted a dark windowless delivery van coming around the corner. A few seconds later the van pulled up in front of the three girls and the side door slid open. There was a large black man at the door beckoning them to get in. All three girls felt a momentary hesitation then an incredible voice, that two of them recognized, came from the dark van's interior. "Come inside quickly. Catherine is in terrible danger."

Jenny was the last one in the van. As the door slid shut she saw Vincent for the first time. She was awestruck. He was both more fearsome and more magnificent than the other girls' description and her own imagination had envisioned.

"Ahead and to the right." Vincent instructed.

As the van pulled out, Jenny dragged her gaze away long enough to see an older man at the wheel. He looked over his shoulder and she saw that it was Cathy's father. Then she looked back at Vincent as Nancy spoke. "Vincent, is Cathy OK?"

There was an extremely grim, intense look on his face. "No." Jenny saw a surge of rage flash across his face that was frightening in its intensity. "There was an attempted rape about twenty minutes ago but I think she successfully fought him off. Her fear has become much more intense since then."

Vincent closed his eyes and shifted his head a bit then called out. "A little more to the right." The van turned right then after a minute Vincent called out. "Turn left right around here." Three seconds later they turned left. After a few minutes the van turned to the right. "That is the wrong way." Vincent called out.

"I'm just following the road." Charles responded. "The roadways are really convoluted right here." They turned to the left. After a half a minute they were again curving to the right. "This road is terrible . . . ah here's a road going the right way." They again turned to the left. "Now we're going the right direction."

Vincent responded. "We're about two miles from her." After about three minutes. He spoke again. "Slow down. She's off to the left, very close now."

"I see a side road. Looks like a small isolated community." Charles reported then the van turned left. They went a short distance then turned right and began curving to the left.

Suddenly Vincent leaned forward and growled. "She's on the run. Stop here now." The van skidded to a stop and Vincent lurched forward with another growl. The black man jerked the door open and Vincent was out the door in an instant.

Charles pulled the van to the curb then called out. "Winslow, follow him, I'll stay with the van. You girls follow Winslow in case Cathy needs you."

As they got out, Winslow pointed to an area between two houses. "He went that way." And took off with the girls right behind him.

Behind the houses they came to a heavily wooded area and came to a halt. They had no way to tell which way Vincent had gone. The quiet was shattered first by a woman's scream then two seconds later there was the roar like an enraged lion followed immediately by a man's scream. "This way!" Winslow took off in the direction of the sounds.

They soon came upon Vincent kneeling over Cathy. Her dress was ripped half off of her and she was clinging to Vincent. A few feet away Steven was curled up in a ball and babbling incoherently.

As Vincent helped Cathy to her feet, Winslow went over to where Steven lay on the ground and stared down at the pitiable babbling wretch. He nudged him with his toe. The man curled up tighter. Winslow then started searching the ground till he found a broken branch with four broken stubs near the end. He set it down on the ground by the curled up man. Then he picked up a small loose shred of Catherine's torn dress and placed it on a bush next to the man.

By the time Winslow came back over to where the rest of them were standing Catherine was standing in Vincent's embrace and had calmed down. "The man is out of his mind but he's not really hurt all that badly. Do you want to just leave him here and go back home or do you want to call the police?"

"What about Vincent?" Jenny asked as she glanced at the impressive creature before her.

"We would have to take Vincent away from this area and Catherine would call the police from one of those nearby houses. She could report pretty much exactly what happened to her before Vincent arrived. She could say that she hit him with a broken branch that she found on the ground where he caught up to her."

Still held tightly in Vincent's embrace, Catherine pulled herself together and straightened her shoulders then looked over at the moaning heap on the ground. "I want more than anything to just leave him there . . ." She looked up into Vincent's eyes. ". . . and have you take me home and hold me for the rest of the night." She reluctantly returned her gaze to the babbling heap. "But he may still be dangerous so I should call the police." She hugged Vincent. "Walk me to the house. Then you had better get away from here." She glanced over at her three friends, her eyes coming to rest on Jenny who was standing next to Winslow. "We can talk after I get back to the dorm room." Her eyes shifted to Winslow then back to Vincent. "How did you get here?"

"Vincent held her close for a moment then responded. "Your father borrowed a private jet and brought me here. He figured he needed a bloodhound to track you down and, because of our bond, I was elected." He gave the babbling man one more disdainful glance. "Let's get you safely into one of those houses."

Jenny again spoke up. "If you want us to pick you up give us about twenty minutes to get back to the dorm then call us and we'll come back in Nancy's car to pick you up."

Catherine nodded and then they made their way back to the houses where they had left the van. They stopped between the houses and Vincent kissed her then they all went over to the van while Catherine approached the front door of the nearest house. She watched them all climb back into the van then she pounded on the door and rang the doorbell. After a minute a man answered the door. There was a woman standing just behind him. They let Catherine into the house and closed the door behind her.

After two minutes Vincent spoke. "She's safe now. I can see her on the phone through that window." He pointed to the window in question. "We can go."

Fifteen minutes later Nancy, Rebecca and Jenny entered the dorm room just as the phone rang. It was Cathy asking them to come get her and making a point of giving them the address. Fifteen minutes later that they arrived in Nancy's car just a few minutes behind the police.

They identified themselves as her dorm-mates and were let in. Cathy was in the family room giving her statement to the detectives. Ten minutes after that two police officers came in to report that they had found Steven Bass in the woods heading back toward the house that he had been using, and had taken him into custody. They also reported that he had been babbling all kinds of crazy stuff about monsters and ungrateful women.

Once they had her statement the police let her go and her friends took her back to their dorm room.

They had just settled into their room when Jenny was startled by a tapping on the outside of their third floor window. Catherine jumped up, ran over to the window and opened it. Vincent swung into the room through the open window. A second later there was a knocking at the door. Nancy went to the door and, after looking through the peep hole, let Catherine's father and Winslow in.

The seven of them sat down and talked late into the night. A lot of the talk involved Cathy's ordeal and explaining Vincent to Jenny. Jenny was fascinated by Vincent and was overflowing with questions. She was most intrigued by the emotional bond that Catherine and Vincent shared. Around three in the morning Charles remarked that they would have to leave before the morning came ad filled the hallways with inquisitive students. Catherine reluctantly agreed that her father was right. After one more kiss goodbye, Charles, Winslow and Vincent left to head back to New York.

~ o ~

With his worries over Catherine relieved, Vincent was now able to relax and enjoy the novelty of the flight back to New York. He spent nearly half of it staring out the windows, especially when they were passing over the lights of a city or some other recognizable landmark. Between the light of the three-quarter moon and Vincent's own excellent night vision, there was plenty for him to see.

Charles spent most of the flight back observing Vincent, amused by his reactions to his first trip by air. Charles was glad now that he had been able to give Vincent this very unique experience. Several times he noticed the faraway look in Vincent's eyes that indicated that he was sharing his feelings of adventure and excitement with Cathy. At times he suspected that they were, sharing feelings that were far more personal.

Charles thought back to that time a few years ago at the lake house when he had overheard Cathy's description of her plans for hers and Vincent's future. Though she had not married Vincent right after high school graduation, there was no doubt in anybody's mind that a wedding between those two was inevitable. By now Charles was virtually certain that Vincent and Catherine had become lovers and had come to fully accept the strong connection between Vincent and his daughter. At times like this he found that he envied them. They had something special that he could only dimly imagine.

When Vincent wasn't looking out the window he was enthusiastically talking with Winslow and Charles about the excitement of flying and of their little adventure in Boston. Vincent admitted that he had been scared to death that they wouldn't get to her in time. He even opened up a bit and talked a little about their latest plans for the future.

As they approached the end of the flight, the lights of New York City came into view, and Vincent was once again glued to the window. Charles got on the intercom and asked the pilot to circle Manhattan so that Vincent would be able to get the most out of the experience. Vincent got particularly excited when he spotted Central Park and Catherine's apartment building.

Catherine was awake a bit later than her dorm mates. She was busy sharing her love and Vincent's joy over his first flying experience through their bond. At one point Catherine found that she was thinking that she was just glad that this whole ordeal hadn't been as bad as it could have been. Then she thought that maybe it had almost been worth it because it had given Vincent the chance to experience his first ride on an airplane. Her thoughts returned to Vincent and their bond. She reveled in Vincent's excitement as he passed over New York City. She finally dozed off shortly after Vincent had arrived safely back in the tunnels.

Fortunately none of the four girls had tests that morning so they all slept in late. Late that afternoon the four of them went out to celebrate Cathy's rescue and officially induct Jenny into their little circle of those that knew about Vincent. They all agreed that Vincent was very sexy and Cathy was unusually lucky to have him as a boyfriend. They also agreed with Nancy that her Paul ran him a mighty close second.

~ x x x x x ~

That summer all four girls visited each other's homes often and Jenny spent a lot of time at Catherine's getting to know Vincent better. Nancy spent a lot of time on the phone talking to Paul. Cathy and Nancy took a lot of teasing about just exactly who was reeling whom in. Nancy and Cathy teased back saying that they were just jealous.

Catherine had to run up to Boston a few times for Steven's trial. His lawyer tried to plead insanity but the jury didn't buy it and by the end of the summer he was found guilty of kidnapping and attempted rape.

Around the middle of that summer, Sammy and a couple of other children were caught in a cave-in. Catherine spent several hours 'Below' helping in the rescue effort. The rescue was successful. As a result of that incident, Jenny learned that Vincent lived in tunnels below the city but, like Nancy and Rebecca, she learned nothing more specific. Soon summer was over and the girls returned to Boston to begin their third year of college.

_**Continued in Part 9**_

* * *

'**Beauty and the Beast'** and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures. No infringement on copyrights is intended. This story is presented merely for the enjoyment of fans. Original concepts and story elements may be used by other authors as long as appropriate credit is given.


	9. Transitions

**The Road Not Taken****  
**(An Alternate Universe Story)_  
By Thomas Mc_

* * *

**Part 9 : Transitions**

**Fall 1979**

Jenny looked at Cathy in stunned surprise. "You're just pulling our leg." Even as she questioned it, she knew that Cathy was serious. "You wouldn't really do that would you?" She shook her head in disbelief then looked over at Nancy who shrugged her shoulders.

Cathy chuckled as she replied. "Nope, I'm not kidding. The teacher offered extra credit when she asked for volunteers and I'm going to do it."

At this point Rebecca walked up to their little meeting spot on the commons.

Nancy looked closely at Cathy and inquired. "Does Vincent know about this? What about your father?" She looked around the commons as though half expecting one or both of them to show up at any second to voice their objection.

"Vincent knows and he said it was OK with him." Cathy replied with a sparkle in her eyes. "However I've promised to give him a demonstration next time we're together." There was a hint of red in her cheeks as she said this.

Nancy and Jenny both blushed as they giggled.

Rebecca glanced around at her friends curiously. "What is Cathy doing that Vincent knows about?" Rebecca asked.

Jenny responded. "Cathy is going to pose nude for the life studies art class that she's in."

Rebecca took a moment to absorb the information and process it with what she had heard earlier. "Are there any boys in that class?" Rebecca asked, her eyebrows riding up and down on her forehead.

"There are a few boys in the class." Cathy replied with a shrug. "Two of them even volunteered to pose."

Rebecca's eyes opened wide. "Really!" Then her eyes narrowed. "Is it too late for me to join that class?" She inquired, with a bit of a sly leer, causing giggles all around.

~ x x x x x ~

Jenny, Nancy and Rebecca had joined Cathy and her father for Thanksgiving dinner. Vincent was already in the apartment when the four girls arrived. By now Jenny had seen him often enough that she had become used to him. At the table the topic of conversation soon came around to the subject of Nancy and Paul.

"So, let's see it." Cathy demanded teasingly.

Nancy held out her left hand, showing off the diamond ring that decorated the third finger. The other three girls ooo'ed and ah'ed appreciatively.

"Have you set a date yet?" Vincent asked.

"We're going to do it during spring break." Nancy replied. "Paul says that he has a place in Connecticut and we are considering living there after graduation. It depends on what kinds of job offers Paul can get."

~ x x x x x ~

**Spring 1980**

Vincent looked down at the sleeping young man. He had been brought into the community almost two months ago and they still knew nothing about him. When Vincent had first found the young man lurking in the old abandoned subway tunnels, he had been totally feral and had not even known how to talk. Vincent had managed to draw the young man in and gain his trust. The young man had soon developed a fondness for Vincent, and Vincent had managed to teach him a few simple phrases. Father suspected that he was somewhere around sixteen to eighteen years old. Vincent suspected that he was more intelligent than everyone else believed and continued to teach him. Vincent was also convinced that the young man had some type of problem learning to translate his thoughts into coherent speech.

The children had started calling the young man 'the mouse' because of the way he tended scurry through the less traveled tunnels. Eventually the young man had adopted the name Mouse as his own. Vincent had disapproved of the name at first until he realized that Mouse understood all the connotations inherent to that name and liked it.

~ x x x x x ~

Catherine and Rebecca stood beside their friend Nancy in the small Connecticut country chapel, and watched her and Paul pledge their love for each other. In high school they had believed that Nancy would be the first of the three of them to get married and it seemed that they had been right in a way.

Thought Catherine had been the first to be 'mated', Nancy had been the first to be officially married. Catherine smiled to herself at this thought. Then her attention was brought back to her friends wedding as she had to hand the ring to Nancy so she could place it on Paul's finger.

All during the reception Catherine's mind kept drifting back to Vincent. Immediately after the reception Catherine headed back to New York and Vincent.

~ o ~

Vincent had more or less accepted responsibility for Mouse and Mouse looked up to Vincent as mentor and friend. Then Catherine had come home for spring break and Mouse had become totally enamored of her. He referred to her as 'Vincent's Catherine' and delighted in seeing them together. Catherine for her part was enchanted by Mouse's innocent eagerness. She confided later that she liked the way Mouse referred to her as 'Vincent's Catherine'. Every time she heard that term she got a warm fuzzy feeling inside.

Mouse had been nearly heartbroken when Catherine returned to school a week later. It had taken a lot of reassurance from Vincent that she would return before Mouse would allow his grief to be assuaged.

~ x x x x x ~

**Summer 1980**

It was the first day of June and Catherine looked out at the audience as she accepted her diploma. Her father and Peter were both out there smiling back at her as she held the scroll above her head in triumph. Inside she could feel the bond humming with Vincent's _love_ and _happiness_ for her.

After the ceremony was over the four best friends were gathered out on the lawn with other friends and parents trading plans for their future.

Nancy smiled over at Paul who had his arm firmly wrapped around her waist. "Paul got a great job offer at that accounting firm that is a mile from the house he owns in Connecticut so it looks like we will be living there."

"I'm going to miss you, Nancy." Catherine remarked a bit sadly.

"Why? We're only two hours from New York and only twenty minutes from your Lake house." Nancy smiled back. "We'll still be seeing a lot of each other." She glanced over at Jenny. "So what about you, Jenny?"

"I'm not quite sure yet. I have two good offers in the works." She shrugged. "One is with a library in Albany but I'm kinda leaning towards the offer from the New York Publishing house." She smiled. "I just like living in New York."

Susan Alcott laughed. "Just can't get enough of the Big Apple, huh." She smiled over at her father, Peter. "As for me, this fall I start medical school." She hugged her father. "I plan to follow in Daddy's footsteps." Peter hugged his oldest daughter back as he beamed with pride.

"What about you Rebecca?" Charles asked. "What are your plans?"

"My brother, Buddy, got me a job with the California clothing chain as his assistant." She shrugged. "How about You Cathy?" She grinned. "Still planning to go away to Columbia Law School?"

"You bet. I've already sent them my transcript from Radcliffe and I take my LSAT's next month. I have a conditional letter of acceptance so if I pass my LSAT's, I'm in." Cathy grinned back as Charles looked on proudly.

"What about Vincent, how has he taken to another two years away?" Susan asked.

"Vincent has been very supportive. He is behind me all the way. We will still have the whole summer together before I return to school." She grinned shyly. "And we plan to make the most of it."

~ o ~

As soon as they had all returned home to New York, Catherine had made her way below. Vincent met her at the hidden access in the basement of her building. By the time they had reached Vincent's chamber the subject had again come around to their own future. Catherine was speaking as they entered Vincent's chamber.

"I know that there is no reason why we should get married now, and plenty of reasons why we should wait, but I still want it now. I will be completely buried in school work and I won't be able to see much of you while I'm at law school but I want to tie you to me as tightly as possible now." She shrugged.

Vincent paused just inside the doorway and faced her holding her at arms length. "Catherine, I am already tied to you, through our bond and my love, more completely than any ceremony could possibly achieve." He pulled her in close and held her tight.

Catherine laid her head on his shoulder as she wrapped her arms tightly around him. "I know. It's really silly and totally selfish on my part but I can't help it. It's just the way I feel."

Vincent responded. "I understand better than you know. Since the day we became lovers I have been haunted by the desire to tie you more securely to me, for fear that someone else might come along and steal you away from me." He tightened his embrace.

"That will never happen, my love." She leaned her head back and looked up into his strong leonine face. "You are my life. The rest is meaningless without you." She cocked her head as she smiled at him. "So you want to do it, too?"

Vincent barely nodded. "With every fiber of my being, I want it." His eyes glittered with his emotion.

Her eyes gleamed back at him. "When do you think we should do it?"

"For me it can't be soon enough." He kissed her forehead. "When would **you **like to do it?"

"What about the beginning of July? That will give us a month to plan it." She looked deeply into his eyes.

"Around independence day?" He responded with a chuckle. "Then we would be celebrating our independence by declaring our dependence on each other."

"Why not?" She laughed then looked intently into his eyes as she continued. "I can't think of anything more freeing than knowing that I belong to you."

Vincent smiled back, moved by the sentiment in her words and the strength of her emotions. "If that is what you wish, then that is what I want as well." He cocked his head to the right. "Where do you want to do it?"

Catherine thought seriously for a moment then her face brightened. "How about Father's library? And I would like Father to officiate."

Vincent grinned showing his fangs. "I think he would like that." He dropped the tapestry across the entrance and they both moved over to his bed beside the stained glass sunrise.

~ x x x x x ~

Charles, Peter and Jacob were sitting around the chess table in the tunnel library. Jacob and Charles were playing a hard fought game of chess and Peter was fighting the urge to kibitz. Peter often teased Jacob and Charles about how evenly matched they were at this game. He said that that is why the two of them had become such good friends.

Jacob was talking. "I saw Mouse talking to Jamie yesterday. Those two are really becoming close lately."

Peter responded. "I've noticed the same thing. Between her and Vincent they have really done a lot to help him learn and grow. He has really blossomed in the last month."

Jacob moved a rook. "Aah-ha, Check." He leaned back with a grin. "I also heard Jamie telling Mouse that she overheard Vincent and Catherine discussing marriage plans."

Peter jumped in. "That doesn't surprise me. I am surprised that they have waited this long."

Jacob shook his head. "I still can't help wondering if they have really considered all the problems inherent in a physical relationship." He shook his head. "Those claws of his could do so much damage if he isn't careful."

Charles shook his head. "I'm pretty sure that they have already solved those problems." He moved his bishop.

Jacob looked up in surprise. "How do you mean?"

Charles responded with a shrug. "I mean, I think that Cathy and Vincent have been lovers for a while now. I'm not quite sure but I think that they became lovers the first summer after she started college. She doesn't really confide in me about that particular subject but I have noticed certain signs."

Jacob gazed at Charles in astonishment. Then they were all distracted by a familiar musical laugh coming from the lower doorway of the chamber. A second later Vincent and Catherine came into the library, their arms around each other's waist, and large grins on their faces. They were practically glowing.

Catherine spoke. "Daddy, Father . . . Vincent and I have something we want to talk to you about."

"What is it Honey?" Charles responded, his curiosity through the roof.

"First off, do you still have mother's wedding dress?" She asked. "Vincent and I have decided that we want to get married the first of next month and that raw silk design would be so perfect for a wedding in the tunnels."

Jacob snorted and sputtered in surprise. Peter broke out laughing. Charles stared at her in stunned surprise for a moment then nodded his head.

"I still have it. I was never able to bring myself to get rid of it. Next to you it was the only reminder of her that I could bear to keep." He looked her up and down nodding to himself. "I think you're right about it being perfect for a tunnel wedding and I think you will look lovely in it."

Jacob was still sputtering as Peter asked the next question. "Have you decided where and how you two are going to live?"

Catherine answered. "I thought that I would keep the apartment as my official address while I live below with Vincent and, after graduation, we will look into something more permanent.

"That won't be easy. And it will get more difficult when you start working." Peter remarked.

"I know." Catherine replied. "I have been thinking about that for a long time and I have some ideas about how I might be able to solve that problem." She paused looking at Vincent. "Sort of a bridge between our two worlds." She looked back at the three men. "Vincent and I belong together. Whatever problems come up, we will solve them together."

Finally Jacob pulled himself together. "I never expected this to happen for Vincent." A slow smile spread across his face. "You both have my sincerest congratulations." He stood up and approached the couple and placed his hand on Vincent's shoulder. "I am so happy for you." He looked at Catherine. "There is no way I can ever adequately thank you for everything you have done for my son." There was a suspicions glimmer lurking in his eyes.

"Your blessing is all the thanks I need, Father. Everything else I want, Vincent gives me." She reached out and touched Jacob's shoulder. "There is one other thing we would request of you." She looked at Vincent. "We would both like you to officiate at our wedding."

The glimmer in Jacob's eyes became more pronounced as he mutely nodded his assent.

~ x x x x x ~

Catherine was on her way down to try on her mother's wedding dress after Mary had made some minor alterations for her. As she turned a corner a very large dark brutish looking stranger stepped out in front of her causing her heart to jump in fright. She took a step back and was about to run away when someone grabbed her from behind. Then she felt a sharp edge at her throat.

"Do exactly what I say or you die." Ordered a voice from the unknown man behind her. At the same time a second large brute stepped around another corner and joined them.

A hand grabbed her upper arm in an iron grip and the knife blade shifted to her side just below the ribs. "This way." She was pulled off down an unused and unfamiliar tunnel. "Watch for anyone following." The unknown man ordered. The two large brutes nodded and fell back a short distance behind them.

As they headed down the unknown tunnel she finally got a look at her captor. He was tall, thin, older than she expected. He had dark thinning hair, a thin buccaneer style beard and mustache and cruel cold eyes that seem to smolder with deep hatred. The knife he carried was attached to some type of harness hidden under his sleeve and extended nearly a foot from the edge of his sleeve along the back of his closed fist. He seemed to be shrouded by an air of pure evil that made her shiver.

"Who are you? What do you want?" She asked as he dragged her along. She had heard of members of rich families being kidnapped but she never expected such a thing to happen to her, especially in the tunnels.

"I want your mate." He replied. "The creature will surly come looking for you, and when it does then I will capture it."

Suddenly Catherine's heart was pounding with fear for Vincent. This evil man was after Vincent. Finally she managed to ask "Why. Why do you want him?"

She recoiled at the cold menace in his eyes when he glanced at her. "The creature was mine!" He ground the words out as he dragged her roughly along. There was a hint of madness in those eyes. "They took him from me and they cast me out." Now I have you and soon the creature will come to me and I will finally have him back."

"What makes you think he will come to you?" She asked, afraid that she already knew the answer. She could already feel Vincent rapidly closing in on their position.

"He will come for his mate, the beast in him will not be able to resist, and I will capture him." The madness and malice in his eyes was becoming more pronounced. "Once I have him I will release the true beast of his nature from the artificial humanity, you and those others have foisted on him, and he will become my weapon." There was a ring of triumph in the madman's voice.

"He won't let that happen." Catherine responded. At the same time she was projecting _caution, danger_ and _wariness_ to her beloved Vincent in a desperate attempt to warn him of the potential trap. After a second she felt the _caution _and _wariness_ reflected back from him in answer to her warning. She could also feel an undercurrent of _rage_ from him, the like of which she had not felt since the Steven Bass incident.

"It will happen. When I kill his mate in front of him, the beast will break free of Jacob's restraints and he will be mine."

Things were worse that she had first thought. She could not let this monster get his hands on Vincent. She could feel him getting closer now but he was not coming at them straight on. Vincent seemed to be taking a parallel route. Suddenly there was a roar and a scream. The evil man whipped around and cursed. One of the huge brutes that had been following them was missing. The second brute was looking around in confusion.

"Move!" The evil man ordered and they quickened their pace. Catherine was barely able to stay on her feet as the tall evil man dragged her along. Twice she stumbled and nearly fell down. Both times the evil man yanked her roughly and threatened to kill her right there if she slowed him down. She could feel Vincent now moving parallel and abreast of them. She continued to project _danger_ and _caution_ to him. Catherine noticed that her captor seemed to be a little less sure of himself, now that he had lost one of his brutish minions.

They passed through an opening and were now moving along a ledge high above the pathway to the Winterfest chamber. There was another scream and they looked back to see the other brute falling into the abyss. They whipped back around to find Vincent standing ten feet in front of them. The blade moved from her side to her throat. Vincent's eyes opened wide with surprise then narrowed as growled the one word. "Paracelsus."

A cold shiver shot up Catherine spine. In the years she had known about the tunnel community, she had become aware of an unspoken but universally feared dark shadow that haunted the fringes of that society. On a couple of very rare occasions she had overheard that shadow referred to as 'The Evil One' and 'Paracelsus'.

The tension was becoming unbearable as Vincent and Paracelsus silently faced each other for a couple of seconds. Paracelsus spoke first. "Stay back! I'll kill her." There was fear and uncertainty in her captor's voice now.

Vincent was poised ready to spring. "You will not survive her loss."

The madman's voice took on a wheedling tone. "Jacob lied to you. You're mine. Don't you want to know the truth about where you come from?"

Catherine could feel the hints _doubt_ and _uncertainty_ in Vincent as she felt the sharp knife pressed up against her throat. She was desperately trying to think of a way out. She pushed her head backward away from the bite of the knife. She felt him shift trying to compensate to retain his hostage without killing her. She shifted backward a bit more, still trying to avoid the deadly knife edge.

She clicked on an idea. Again she pushed backward against the evil man and again he compensated. She pushed back one more time, even harder than the previous times. She felt his grip on her loosen and the knife lose contact with her throat. She suddenly went totally limp and slithered downward, out of his grasp. That same instant Vincent lunged then roared with pain as the evil man's blade caught him in the side. The next instant, one swipe of Vincent's clawed hand sent Paracelsus screaming over the edge of the narrow ledge and into the abyss.

Shakily Catherine got to her feet then Vincent held her shoulders and stared at her neck. "Catherine, you're injured."

Catherine brought her hand up to her throat. It felt warm and sticky as a stinging pain at her throat finally penetrated her consciousness. She pulled her hand away and there was blood on it but, fortunately, not a lot. "I'm fine Vincent, it's just a scratch." She looked down at the point where she could clearly feel Vincent's pain and saw a bloody torn hole in his clothes. "You are hurt a lot worse than me. We have to get you back to Father right away."

Vincent looked down at the site of the injury and nodded. "You're right." He took her hand. "This way."

Vincent led her through a side opening and down a dusty unused tunnel. In a few minutes they were back near the main tunnels of the community. A pipe message from one of the sentries announced the approach of her and Vincent from this unexpected direction and mentioned the presence of blood on Vincent. Vincent stopped and sent a quick message for Father to meet him in the infirmary. Catherine could see that Vincent was getting a bit shaky and she felt the slow ebbing of his strength over the bond. She also noted that there was way too much blood. She put her arm around him, trying to lend as much support as she could, as they set off for the tunnel community infirmary.

_**Continued in Part 10**_

* * *

'**Beauty and the Beast'** and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures. No infringement on copyrights is intended. This story is presented merely for the enjoyment of fans. Original concepts and story elements may be used by other authors as long as appropriate credit is given.


	10. Wedding

**The Road Not Taken****  
**(An Alternate Universe Story)_  
By Thomas Mc_

* * *

**Part 10 : Wedding**

Vincent was slowing down and there was now blood all the way down his side. Catherine kept glancing down at Vincent's side and was beginning to get worried. By now they had reached a section of the tunnels that she was familiar with. Vincent was beginning to lean more heavily on her when they finally came within sight of the infirmary. Catherine heaved a sigh of relief as they reached the infirmary entrance.

Father and Mary were waiting for Catherine and Vincent as they entered the infirmary. He frowned as he took in Vincent's bloody state and pointed to the table in the small operating alcove. "Put him on the table. Mary, prepare my instruments. I'm going to need your assistance on this." Then Father noticed Catherine's throat. "Catherine, your neck!"

"Don't worry about me. Vincent is hurt a lot worse than I am." Catherine insisted as she helped Vincent onto the operating table. "That madman stabbed him in the side with a long bladed knife."

Father nodded, noting the relatively minor seriousness of her injury then shooed her out of the small operating alcove and turned his attention to Vincent as Mary dropped the tapestry across the opening.

Catherine was soon pacing restlessly in the main infirmary chamber when Winslow and Pascal showed up to find out what had happened to Vincent. They both noticed the blood on Catherine's throat. Winslow spoke first. "Catherine what happened? Are you OK?"

"I'm just fine. It looks a lot worse than it is but Vincent was hurt pretty bad." Grateful for the distraction from her worry, Catherine told them what had happened. She noted the look of dread on both their faces when she described the three that had snatched her and related what he had planned for Vincent. When she described the death of Paracelsus, they both looked like students that had just been told that finals were canceled and they were getting 'A's.

An hour and a half later Mary came out of the operating alcove carrying some of Vincent's bloody clothes. She looked at the three anxious people. "Good, Winslow, run down to Vincent's chamber and bring me some fresh clothes for him."

"How is he doing?" Catherine asked.

"Father is fixing him up. He says that Vincent will be fine." Mary dumped the bloody clothes into a hamper. "Go on Winslow. Father will take good care of him 'til you return." She turned around and went back into the alcove as Winslow trotted out of the infirmary.

Ten minutes later Winslow returned accompanied by Ben and carrying a fresh change of clothes.

Catherine took the clothes from him. "I'll take those to him." She poked her head past the tapestry. "I have Vincent's clothes here, Father."

"Just put them over on that chair." Father ordered without looking up from his work. He snipped a length of thread and sighed. "That's done." He remarked under his breath. "Mary, the gauze." He ordered more loudly.

Catherine glanced over at Vincent as Mary handed Father the gauze roll. Mary noticed Catherine and nodded to her. "He is going to be just fine, Catherine." Catherine nodded back at Mary then went back out to the main chamber.

Ten minutes later Father and Mary came out of the alcove. Father faced the waiting group. "The wound was deep but nothing vital was hit. The massive blood loss was the worst part of it. The repair was relatively simple and he will be just fine." Father's gaze swept the group. "Winston, Ben, I need you two to carry Vincent to his chamber."

Father supervised the loading of Vincent onto the stretcher and sent Mary along with them to supervise at the other end. Then he turned his attention to the shallow cut on Catherine's throat.

"What about Vincent? How soon will he be awake?" She asked as he started to work on her.

Jacob responded. "Vincent should be up in about an hour but he should stay in bed for at least twenty-four hours."

As Jacob finished cleaning up her wound, his brows furrowed in concern. "What happened to you and Vincent? Who did this?"

Catherine watched him very closely as she responded simply. "Paracelsus."

Jacob blanched as his face took on a look that seemed to be equal parts surprise, horror and deep sorrow. He said no more about it as he finished bandaging her wound but she noticed that he was reluctant to look her in the eye. When he was done he remarked. "The damage was very minor. It looked a lot worse than it was." Jacob double checked the bandage. "I will check in on Vincent in about an hour when he wakes up." He then left the infirmary with a very troubled look on his face.

Catherine was torn between the desire to follow Father and demand an explanation and the need to be with Vincent. The indecision lasted half a second then she headed straight to Vincent's chamber. After reassuring herself about Vincent's condition, Catherine stationed herself in Vincent's oversized chair to watch over him.

~ o ~

Catherine had been reading a copy of 'Great Expectations' that she had found on Vincent's shelf. She was distracted by a groan and looked up to see him blinking as he tried to focus in on her. She was instantly perched on the edge of his bed with one hand caressing the side of his face."

"Catherine?" He croaked out in a voice that was a rough ghost of his normal tones.

"Shhhh. Just rest right now. Father said that the wound wasn't too serious but you lost a lot of blood."

"Thirsty." He remarked.

"I know, love." She nodded. "Just a second."

She reached over and poured a cup of water from the pitcher on the low table beside his bed. Then she placed one hand behind his head and lifted it up while she offered the cup to his lips. "Drink slowly; I don't want you to choke." When he had drunk his fill she laid his head back down and again caressed his face.

Vincent reached and grabbed her hand, stilling its movement. "Catherine . . . what that man said . . ."

"Shhhh, don't fret about that right now." She could feel the turmoil in his emotions. "How much of that did you hear?"

"I heard most of the last fifteen minutes or so of it." He responded, the turmoil showing in his eyes.

Father's voice called from beyond the tapestry. "Is it OK for me to come in?"

Catherine replied. "Sure Father; Vincent is awake. You can come in."

Jacob entered the chamber as Catherine moved aside to give him room to examine Vincent. He checked the usual vitals, asked a few questions, and replaced the dressing over the wound. He nodded to himself then stood back to repack his old black doctor's bag. "You seem to have come out of this OK. I don't expect there to be any complications." He glanced a bit nervously at Catherine then addressed Vincent. "Can you tell me what happened?"

Catherine felt Vincent's _reluctance_ and stepped in. She gave him a very accurate account of what happened from her point of view. She also made a point of reciting verbatim everything that Paracelsus had said. She could see that Father was very disturbed by the man's words and he kept glancing at Vincent.

When she got to the point where Vincent killed Paracelsus she could see tremendous relief and sadness on his face and she could also feel extreme _shame_ from Vincent over the bond. She turned on Vincent, anger shooting through her like a bolt of lightning. "Don't you **dare** feel ashamed for getting rid of that monster." She felt his _shame_ become overrun by _surprise_ and _uncertainty_. The flash of anger vanished as fast as it had appeared as she sat on the edge of his bed and took his hand in hers. "You saved my life; you saved yourself from a horrible fate at that monster's hands; you rid this community of an evil that has haunted it for far too long; and I suspect that you may have prevented a lot of terrible deeds that he probably would have committed had you not stopped him. I dislike killing as much as you do but sometimes it cannot be helped and this time I truly believe that what you did was both necessary and right."

Vincent gazed thoughtfully up into her face while Father gazed at her in admiration.

After a couple of seconds Father cleared his throat. "She is totally correct, my son; you did only what you had to do. There is no shame in that."

Catherine smiled up at Father in appreciation and approval. Then after a couple of seconds her look turned serious as her hand tightened in Vincent's hand. "While we're on the subject, just who was this Paracelsus and what was he to this community." She glanced back down at Vincent. "And I think Vincent and I would both like an explanation of just what it was that he meant by those things he said to and about Vincent." She looked back up at Father. "Why did he say that Vincent was his?"

Father hemmed and hawed for a few seconds as he tried to figure out what to say. Finally he slumped down into Vincent's chair. He took a couple of slow breaths the started to talk.

"His real name was John Pater and at one time he was my friend." He looked down as a deep sadness passed across his face then after a second he pulled himself together and looked up. "John was the one who first found these chambers that we all live in. It was shortly after they moved into these chambers that Grace found me and brought me here. John and I worked together to build this place and make it what it was. Anna was John's wife and it was shortly after her third miscarriage that she found Vincent hidden in the trash behind Saint Vincent Hospital. At first we weren't sure that Vincent would survive but Anna was determined to keep him and I did my best to try to save him. We succeeded."

Father paused, again gathering his thoughts then he looked straight at Vincent. "By then John had already started acting a little bit odd. John never would accept you as a person. He indulged Anna's obsession with you because it made her happy. To him you were just a scientific curiosity to be studied. He had begun to call himself Paracelsus and had begun to think of the tunnel community as his empire. He also became more and more obsessed with finding out what made you tick. Anna began to fear for your safety and finally, a few months before your first birthday, she gave you over into my care to protect you from John. John saw that as a betrayal and killed Anna. That was when most of the community united against him and he was banished. John tried to steal you back several times during the next couple of years but by then the rest of the community had all taken you into their hearts and we all protected you from him. John and Anna were both good friends and their loss hit me hard."

Father paused for a while looking at the ground. Just as Catherine was about to speak, Father continued. "After that John's sanity seemed to decay and he became the person you saw. As for your origins, he didn't have any more idea than the rest of us. Anna really did think of you as her child and when she very reluctantly gave you to me I took her trust very seriously. I raised you as my son and soon came to think of you and love you as my own."

For a long time they sat there in silence. Vincent could feel the truth in Father's words through his empathic sense and Catherine knew that Vincent believed him because of her bond with Vincent. Finally Catherine decided that both the subject and the silence should end.

"How long will it take for Vincent to be completely healed?" Catherine asked into the silence.

Both of them looked at her, a bit startled by the abrupt shift in subject. After a moment Father responded. "Normally it would take eight to ten weeks for the damage to heal sufficiently to be completely out of danger of re-injury. But in Vincent's case that will probably only take three to four weeks."

Catherine nodded then smiled as she commented. "Good, good. Then this shouldn't interfere with our honeymoon."

Father turned bright red and sputtered for a moment while Vincent, also turning red, stared at her in surprise. And just like that, the somber mood that had settled over them was broken and banished from the room.

~ x x x x x ~

It was just one week until their wedding and the whole tunnel community was stirring as each person preparing for it in their own way. Catherine and Vincent had been surprised at the massive response to their announcement of their upcoming wedding with everyone offering whatever help they were able to give. The size of the interest was a testament to how important they had both become to the people of the community.

Catherine and Vincent were in Vincent's chamber eating a light lunch and pouring over the names of all the tunnel residents and helpers trying to figure out how many of them they could fit into Father's library for the actual ceremony. The reception was going to be held in the dining chamber which would probably fill it to capacity.

They both looked up from their lunch as Charles entered the chamber. Catherine noticed that her father was carrying a small package with almost reverent care. Vincent could sense strong conflicting emotions passing through Charles with _love_, and _melancholy_ being foremost over an undercurrent of _uncertainty_. He echoed those emotions through their link to Catherine to alert her that something of very great import might be about to happen.

After a moment's hesitation Charles cleared his throat and finally spoke. "Um, Cathy I know that the path that your life has taken is nothing at all like what we had imagined when your mother was alive." He looked down at the package then at Vincent and finally back at Catherine. "But I want you to know that I am proud of the person you have become and I am pleased with the way your life is turning out." He looked over at Vincent. "Vincent, I must admit that you are the furthest thing I can think of from the type of person her mother and I had envisioned Cathy ending up with . . . but with the whole world to chose from, I don't think she could have chosen a better man to share her life with." He paused again, a lump forming in his throat.

Catherine opened her mouth to speak and Charles held up his hand forestalling her. "I want you both to know that you both have my whole hearted blessing. Further more I truly believe that your mother would feel exactly the same way." He again glanced down at the package he was carrying. "The time I had with . . . Caroline . . . short as it was, was the happiest time of my life and I would not change one minute of it." He swallowed. "And the best part of it was the beautiful gift she gave me in you Cathy."

He hastily handed the package to Catherine as though afraid that would change his mind if he hesitated. After a second's pause, Catherine opened the package to find a small intricately carved box inside. With shaking hands she opened the box to find her parent's wedding rings inside.

Charles rushed to explain. "I know that you have not picked out any rings yet. I'm not sure if you even planed to have rings. I was hoping you would wear our rings in honor of your mother and in the hope that you will have a long life together and that it will be as happy as our marriage was."

Vincent glanced over at Catherine's tear blurred eyes and spoke for the both of them. "There is no way we could ever adequately express our gratitude for this gift you have given us. You have know me for years and you know of the bond between Catherine and myself so believe me when I tell you that we **both** understand how much this gift means to you and we are both deeply touched by it. We had not really thought about rings but these rings you have given us are very special and we both are deeply honored by your gift and the personal sacrifice that giving up those rings means for you. We would both be proud to wear these rings. They will mean so much more to us that any rings we might have picked out for ourselves." Vincent picked up the engagement ring from the box and placed it on Catherine's finger as tears began leaking down her cheeks. Then he raised that hand and kissed it.

Catherine stared at the ring on her hand through tear blurred eyes for several seconds then she jumped up and threw her arms around Charles. "Thank you daddy." She hugged him very tightly, her tears now flowing freely. A couple of seconds later Vincent stood up and was included in the hug.

~ x x x x x ~

Vincent stood at the front of Father's library, his gaze locked on the top of the spiral staircase. Beside him, to his left, stood Winslow, Pascal and Mouse. On the other side of him stood Father, trying very hard to look serious and business like in his only dress suit, though his face had a mind of its own that was constantly threatening to break out at any moment into an unruly grin. This was the day that they had all once believed could never happen. Vincent had fallen in love with a beautiful woman that loved him back just as completely, and today they were to be joined in marriage.

Charles gazed lovingly at his grown daughter standing there in his wife's wedding dress with her mother's eyes and smile glowing like a beacon. "Honey you look so beautiful." He tentatively reached out to touch his daughter's cheek and suddenly remembered the day he had first seen her cradled in Caroline's arms. "The first time I saw you, I told you that I would always be there for you; but what the future held for you . . . only time would tell." He smiled and wiped away a single tear that formed at the edge of his eye. "Thought we never could have foreseen this outcome or who you would end up with, I couldn't be happier for you and if your mother were here I know she would have felt the same. Vincent is a good man and I know you two will be happy together."

Catherine threw her arms around him in a bear hug. "Thank you Daddy. I love you."

Charles returned the hug. "Now let's get this show on the road. Nancy, let them know that we are ready."

Jenny appeared at the top of the stairs and started down, followed by Rebecca then Nancy. Finally Catherine appeared at the top of the stairs on her father's arm. She was a vision of beauty in her mother's white raw silk wedding dress. Her eyes locked onto Vincent and her smile lit up her face making it as radiant as the sun with her love for him. Their bond was ringing with the intensity of their love for each other.

Every one of the guests present in that library could see as well as feel the strength of the couple's love. They all knew that their souls had been bonded together for a long time and this ceremony was little more than a formality but it was still full of so much symbolism for the whole community. It was like a validation of their very existence. So much of the tunnel community's secrecy had been tied up in Vincent's existence.

The three girls lined up on the other side from Vincent's attendants and then Charles gave his daughter's hand over to Vincent. And as she took her place beside Vincent, Charles took his seat.

Charles soon became aware of a feeling of loving warmth that seemed to envelop him then he caught the faintest whiff Caroline's favorite perfume. He glanced around in surprise but of course she was not there. For a moment his face fell as he was reminded of how much he missed her. The momentary sadness over his lost wife soon evaporated under the onslaught of the loving warmth and the remembered fragrance that persisted and grew stronger. Somehow her spirit was here and was making her presence known to him.

Catherine and Vincent stood before Father and all of their guests and pledged their love, their lives and their souls to each other. Then it was time to exchange their rings. Catherine felt a special warm glow as she looked down on her mother's wedding ring that Vincent was placing on her finger. Then it was her turn to place her father's ring on Vincent's finger.

The entire ceremony was short and very simple. As Father pronounced them husband and wife they both felt their hearts swell to the point of bursting. Vincent was feeling an almost irresistible urge to roar in triumph as Father said he may kiss the bride. As their lips met the bond bloomed to a strength they normally only felt when making love. Just as everyone was beginning to wonder when the kiss would end, Catherine pulled back and whispered in his ear. "Go ahead, do it for us."

Vincent leaned his head back and cut loose with a defining roar of triumph as Catherine clung to him crying and laughing at the same time.

There was a moment of stunned silence then the guests broke out in cheers for the happy couple. Then they all headed to the dining chamber where those that had been unable to attend the ceremony were waiting. As soon as the wedding party arrived in the Dining chamber everyone there was asking for an explanation of the roar that had been heard echoing through the tunnels a few moments ago.

Food and drink were soon flowing freely as the small tunnel orchestra filled the chamber with music. Everyone in there wanted to personally congratulate the couple so Catherine and Vincent got very little time to themselves. Father managed to corner them for a few minutes to tell them how happy he was for them both. Mary also managed to corner them alone. Her eyes filled with tears as she told them how happy she was for them.

Late in the reception Charles managed to get them alone. He congratulated them then he smiled at Catherine as he took her hand. "Cathy, I just wanted you to know that Caroline was there with us tonight. I clearly felt her warmth and smelled her favorite scent during the ceremony. You should know that I distinctly felt her approval as well." He ducked his head a bit self consciously. "I know that she was happy for you both." He gave them each a kiss on the cheek.

A few minutes later Catherine found herself alone with Jenny. "I just talked with Nancy and your dad. He said that you and Vincent were going to spend your first two nights together in that newly completed honeymoon chamber. Jamie told me that it was you and Vincent that first discovered that place. I guess it is only appropriate that you two are the first ones to use the finished place." She blushed bright red. "Anyway I just wanted to tell you that if there is ever anything we can do for you, Nancy, Rebecca and I will always be there for you.

Catherine lowered her tone to conspiratorial levels. "Actually there is something you might be able to help me with."

"Name it." Jenny replied.

"I need to find a ground floor place that is close to the park and has easy access to the tunnels so that Vincent can come and go freely anytime of the day. I want to make a kind of bridge between 'Above' and 'Below' where Vincent and I can make our home. If you and Rebecca can keep your eyes open for such a place I would greatly appreciate it. And don't tell anyone else about this. I don't want to get Vincent's hopes up until I have already found an appropriate place. I need your help because I'm hoping I can find a place that we can move into before I have to head off to Law school."

"You can count on me, Cathy. And I can clue Rebecca in on this tomorrow." Jenny replied.

"Thanks Jenny. I'm forever grateful for everything you have done for us." Catherine hugged her.

"Non-sense. You have done so much for me. You befriended me in college and made it so much easier for me to stay in school. And you and Vincent have managed to bring a large dollop of magic into my life."

~ x x x x x ~

Jenny and Catherine stepped out of the cab and looked up at the place Jenny had brought Catherine here to see.

"The sister of Rebecca's latest boyfriend told her about this place and she told me. I came by here yesterday to check the place out." Jenny paused a moment as they both looked up at the modest two story brownstone that was located about two blocks from the park. "I checked with mouse . . . he is such a strange little guy . . . and the basement is only ten feet from one of the utility tunnels. He told me that connecting them will only take a couple of weeks at the most."

Catherine nodded her approval as they approached the front door and Jennifer produced a key. "Looks nice from out here." She commented.

Jenny unlocked the door and they entered. Jenny continued her description as they both looked around at the empty front parlor. "It's a three bedroom two bath with a nice rooftop garden." They peered into the kitchen and dining nook. "Unfortunately half the homes on this street have rooftop gardens so there won't be any privacy for Vincent." She shrugged over this minor flaw in the place. They started up the stairs. "Other than that the place is in great shape and appears to be just what you were looking for." As they peered into the three bedrooms, Jenny continued. "The owner got a great new job in Chicago and is desperate to sell so the price is very good. I gave him an earnest deposit yesterday to hold it 'til you could check it out." She hastened to add at Cathy's surprised look. "It was the least I could do after all that you've done for me." They continued up the stairs to the small roof top garden.

After looking out at the view from the garden for a minute, Catherine turned to Jenny. "I love it. Daddy said that he would loan me the money to buy a place if I found one so I can pay you back next week." She gave her newest friend a hug. "Thank you Jenny."

A week and a half later Vincent and Catherine moved into the little brownstone and spent the rest of the summer fixing it up. They replaced all the windows with frosted glass and redecorated most of the rooms. Charles gifted them with one of the new king size beds for the master bedroom. Catherine bought a few pieces of furniture for the parlor. Several other pieces of furniture were given or made for them by helpers and members of the tunnel community. With the connection between the basement and the utility tunnel, Vincent had no trouble coming and going between the tunnels and their new home.

~ x x x x x ~

A month later it was time for Catherine to start law school.

_**Continued in Part 11**_

* * *

'**Beauty and the Beast'** and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures. No infringement on copyrights is intended. This story is presented merely for the enjoyment of fans. Original concepts and story elements may be used by other authors as long as appropriate credit is given.


	11. Connections

**The Road Not Taken****  
**(An Alternate Universe Story)_  
By Thomas Mc_

* * *

**Part 11 : ****Connections**

**Fall 1980**

After only one week Catherine was already at home on the Columbia Law School Campus. She had arrived a week early so that she would have the extra time to settle in before classes started tomorrow. She had just purchased the last of her books for the first semester and was on her way to her dorm room. As she glanced around she spotted a young man in old worn clothes making his way across campus. He kept glancing around at the buildings and signs and looking rather lost.

Just as he was about to cross her path close in front of her, she spoke to him. "Hello. Do you need any help?"

The young man halted and looked over at her in surprise. "What?"

"You looked kinda lost so I asked if you needed any help." Catherine responded to his confused look.

The young man seemed to shake himself out of his dazed state. "I'm a bit lost. I'm looking for this place." He showed her a piece of paper that contained a room number and a building name. "I'm not even sure where I am, much less whether I'm even headed the right way." He shrugged.

Catherine nodded her head. "I know where that is and you **are** going in the wrong direction." She indicated the same direction she had been heading. "It's this way. I'll take you there." He turned the direction indicated and she fell in step beside him as they took off in the new direction. She glanced over at the young man. He was really rather nice looking and if she weren't already married to the most fantastic man in the world, she probably would have looked on this as a particularly nice opportunity.

"I don't want to take you out of your way." The young man remarked though he was grateful that she was willing to be his temporary guide. He also couldn't help noticing that she was a particularly good looking female.

"You aren't." She replied. "I happen to be heading there myself. If that is your dorm assignment them it seems that we will be living in the same building." She smiled at the young man. "By the way my name is Catherine Chandler. My friends call me Cathy."

He felt a sudden rise in his interest in getting to know her better. "Pleasure to meet you. My name is Joseph Maxwell Jr. but you can call me Joe." He glanced down at the ground a moment and was therefore oblivious to the startled look on Cathy's face.

Catherine almost stumbled in her surprise when she heard his name. This was the boy whose father had been killed by Mitch. "Uh . . . um, glad to meet you, Joe."

She remembered her father saying that he had arranged for that policeman's son to get a scholarship to Columbia Law School but she had not really expected to run into him like this. She also remembered her father remarking on how Joe seemed to be a particularly driven individual and had managed to get his bachelor degree in only three years. She was unsure what to say next when she spotted their dorm building ahead. "Here we are." She announced as they approached the front steps.

Catherine showed Joe where the main office was and helped him through the process of getting his room assignment locked in. It turned out that his room was one floor below hers. It was a co-ed dorm with the sexes segregated by floors. While Joe was thinking that his room was conveniently close to a really cute girl, Catherine was thinking it would be easy for her to keep an eye on Joe for her father. She was also sure that Vincent would be pleased that Joseph's son was doing well.

Once she got back to her room, Catherine called her father to tell him about the how she was settling in and about her encounter with Joseph Maxwell's son.

~ x x x x x ~

"Hey Radcliffe." Joe called out as he spotted Cathy Chandler in the commons the next morning.

Catherine looked up, perplexed at the familiar name of her previous school, and recognized the nice young man, Joe Maxwell, from yesterday. "Huh, what? Were you talking to me?" She inquired uncertainly.

"Your shirt says Radcliffe." Joe replied, pointing at the school logo on her sweatshirt as he sat down beside her. "That's a pretty ritzy school. Very exclusive and expensive." He cocked his head as though requesting an explanation without really doing so.

Catherine glanced down at the shirt under discussion and shrugged. "Daddy is fairly well off." She waved the half eaten bagel in her hand at the extra uneaten bagel on the paper bag beside her; the man with the push cart was selling two for one to the students so she had an extra. "Bagel?"

Joe looked down at it. "You don't mind?"

"One is my limit, especially this early in the morning." She smiled as she shrugged.

"Gee, thanks." He picked up the offered bagel. He was hungry and it was actually a good bagel. "By the way, thanks for all your help yesterday. I don't know how I got so turned around."

"No problem, I suspect that it was your first day . . ." She grinned. ". . . and, like most males, you didn't think to ask directions."

"He ducked his head. "Guilty as charged."

"My friend Jenny claims that all males are incapable of asking directions. She thinks it is a flaw built into the male gene."

Joe laughed. "It's probably there to offset the flaw in the female gene that makes them unable to read maps."

"Oooo, touché." She laughed in return. "You got an early class this morning?"

"Yea, Basic theory of law." He shrugged.

"Same here." She responded. "I thinks it's their way of throwing us into the deep end of the pool. It's a requirement for all first semester students to weed out the weaklings." She glanced at her watch. "Speaking of which, we'd better get moving or we'll be late for our first day of class." They both jumped up and headed off to class.

~ x x x x x ~

Joe was rushing to get to his first afternoon class of the day while brushing away the crumbs of his hasty lunch and spotted Cathy entering the classroom ahead of him. It seemed like she was in nearly half of his classes. She was also in his study group. He couldn't avoid her if he had wanted to. He certainly wasn't complaining about the situation. She was very pretty and he always enjoyed her company.

Over the last month he had made a couple of half-hearted overtures. There was something about her quiet self-assured confidence that drew him like a magnet. She had been friendly enough but she had not showed any signs of return interest. The workload was so heavy that he had not been able to put a lot of effort into anything else. She was so dedicated to her studies that he figured that she didn't have any time for a social life either.

As he passed through the door into the classroom, he thought that maybe he would have a better chance with her during the semester break. He took his customary seat behind her. He had picked a seat close to her in each class that they had together.

~ o ~

As they exited the class Joe fell into step beside Cathy. She was also in his next class. They casually commented on the class that they had just left as they made their way to the next class. As usual the hallway was teaming with jostling students and someone brushed up against Joe, knocking him off balance and pushing him into Cathy. They both dropped their books and he caught her as she started to topple over.

Joe was torn between embarrassment and elation over the sudden contact. Once they were both stable again he crouched down and picked up their books. "Uh, sorry about that. You OK?" She nodded assent. He handed her books back to her as they continued toward their next class.

This class was relatively easy compared to most of them. He found himself glancing at Cathy two desks over and thinking of the incident in the hall. For nearly two seconds he had held her and he couldn't get the feel of his arms around her out of his mind. A couple of quick fantasies fitted through his mind then he was pulled back to reality by the professors voice expounding on a point of law.

Joe's last class of the day was one of the more difficult ones and Cathy was not in it so he was soon engaged in the difficult task of wrapping his head around the concepts that the professor was espousing.

Joe trudged into his dorm room, aiming a tired greeting at Patrick, his room mate, and dropped his books on his bed.

"Tough day, huh?" Patrick asked.

"Joe shook his head. "What ever possessed me to schedule my three hardest classes on the same day?" Joe groused as he pulled a soda from the small refrigerator that Patrick had supplied for their room. In the short time they had been dorm mates, Joe and Patrick had become good friends, bonding over their common opinions of classes, professors and girls.

"I guess it must be the masochist in us. " Patrick chuckled. "Why else would we be in law school?" He cocked his head and grinned. "How's it going with that girl upstairs?"

"Aw, she's so focused on her classes I don't think anybody could get anywhere with her." Joe replied with a shrug.

"You mean she's able to resist the old Joe Maxwell charm?" Patrick asked with a laugh.

"What ever." Joe replied as he settled on his bed and opened one of his books. A couple of pieces of paper fluttered out of the book and landed on his lap. One was an envelope and another appeared to be a letter. Curiously he picked up the letter. A quick glance made several things clear to Joe. The first was that this was not his book, it was Cathy's. The second was that she had a boy friend / lover back in New York named Vincent. The third was that they were probably living together.

'_That would certainly explain her immunity to my so called devastating charm_,' Joe thought, a bit red faced, as he put the letter and envelop back in the book. He jumped up from his bed and left the room with the book calling over his shoulder. "I've got Cathy's book. I'll be right back."

~ o ~

Cathy answered her door and looked at Joe in surprise. "Joe, what are you doing here?"

Joe held out her book. "I think we ended up with each other's books."

"Oh, thanks ." She took the book. "Let me get yours." She returned with his book and handed it to him.

As Joe was taking his book from her hand, he noticed for the first time that the rings on her right hand looked just like a wedding ring set. So she was married? "Thanks. See you in class tomorrow." He headed back to his dorm room.

That evening Joe kept thinking about the mystery of Cathy Chandler. He never would have pegged Cathy, the wealthy debutante, as being married. That was probably why he hadn't noticed that the rings she wore were a wedding set. He just thought that it was the normal adornment of a rich young girl. But that revelation had generated a whole group of other question. Who was this Vincent and why was Cathy so secretive about it? She didn't strike him as the type to be ashamed of her associations, regardless of their station, so it couldn't be that. She certainly wasn't hiding the existence of her marriage in order to fool around and she obviously wasn't using a wedding ring to stave off the advances of other boys. It was a puzzle and Joe loved puzzles.

~ x x x x x ~

The semester was over and the last of the finals had been this morning. By tomorrow many of the students would scatter to the four winds for their Christmas vacation. Catherine was looking forward to Winterfest in two days and to a Christmas alone with Vincent in their new home. At the present she was leaning against a tree at the edge of a group of student's that was passing the time shooting the breeze about whatever topic came up. The topic had shifted to descriptions of various vacations to foreign countries. Catherine told about a couple of trips she had gone on with her parents. Half of the time though she was barely listening because her mind was back in the tunnels with Vincent.

Joe Maxwell was also in this group though he had little to say about the current subject. He was not as well off as most of these students. He was currently watching Cathy and wondering about the possible story behind the wedding ring and engagement ring that she wore on the wrong hand.

Another of their classmates named Mattie began bragging about an Australian outback tour she and her family had been on two years ago. "The camping trip to the outback had been arranged by this small company called 'Never Never Safari Tours' that operated in the Northern Territories out of a small village called Walkabout Creek. The place was run by three men, Mick Dundee, Wally Reilly and Darrel Sanders." She paused as though remembering a pleasant time. "Our group was led by Darrel Sanders. We had so much fun that fall, it was their spring down under. During the day we saw some of the most incredible sights and at night he told us all kinds of tales and legends. Toward the end of our trip, my father fell into a sink hole and was badly injured. Darrel Sanders patched him up as good as any doctor in a hospital could have done, with little more than a sewing kit and a hunting knife." Again she paused reminiscing. "I remember some of those fantastic and amusing tales he would tell us after dinner. I remember one that was just a rehash of that old 'ghost of the Brooklyn Bridge' legend, but it was the lion-man stories that really got to us."

That got Catherine's attention. Joe noticed the way Cathy suddenly became alert and looked around trying to divine what had caught her attention

Mattie grinned looking around at her entranced audience. "The best stories, by far, were the ones Darrel told about the lion-man that lived in tunnels deep underground and would sometimes at night come above ground to wander the moonlit forests. The story goes that whenever the lion-man found abandoned children, he would take them below to his secret world. Some said that they were never seen again. Other's said that those children were given to people who would raise them as their own. Either way, whenever the lion-man was abroad the villagers kept their children close so that they wouldn't be mistaken for abandoned children." Mattie looked around ad her audience and smiled. "Darrel was a really good storyteller."

"That is such a ridiculous story." Joe commented, ever the pragmatist. "There is no such thing as a lion-man."

"That's what my brother said." She laughed. "Then Darrel looked right at my brother and said that he knew it was real because he had tangled with it once and it left him with the three deep scars on his left cheek."

Catherine felt her knees go weak and it was her grip on a handy tree branch that kept her from collapsing to the ground. Fortunately the others around her were all fixated on Mattie so no one noticed Catherine's short struggle to gain control of herself, except Joe.

Catherine spoke up, her inner turmoil barely under control. "My father has been considering a trip to Australia after graduation. What was the name of that tour guide and his company again?" Mattie repeated the requested information then the ebb and flow of conversation resumed.

That evening she was on the phone to her father with a long list of very specific instructions.

~ x x x x x ~

Darrel Sanders was getting edgy and thinking of moving on. Maybe Kenya or the Himalayas. He had been here almost three years. That was three times longer than he had ever stayed in one place since he had left . . . His mind automatically shied away from thoughts of where he came from. It was an old habit. He had already started to cut his ties to this place one by one. He was disturbed when Wally suddenly spoke from the other side of the table.

"Devin?" Was all Wally said.

Darrel's head jerked up. "Hu, What?" He looked over at Wally in startled uncertainty.

Wally held up the envelope that had just been handed to him. This telegram. It's addressed to someone named Devin care of Never Never Safari Tours, in Walkabout Creek, Australia." He looked down at the address looking confused. "Do we know a Devin?"

Mick spoke up. "A client perhaps?"

Wally responded. "We have nothing scheduled. It's been two weeks since the last tour group. There was nobody named Devin in that group."

"Where did it come from?" Darrel asked, There was a slight tremor in his voice.

Wally flipped the envelope over. "It says New York."

"Let me see that." Darrel reached out and snatched the envelope from Wally before he had even finished extending it to him. To both his companion's surprise, Darrel ripped open the envelope and with, shaking hands, removed the telegram inside then began to read it.

~ o - - - - - - - - - - o ~

YOU ARE NEEDED IN NEW YORK ON A VERY IMPORTANT  
MATTER STOP TRAVEL EXPENSES WILL BE PAID BY OUR  
CLIENT STOP CONTACT CHARLES CHANDLER OF  
CHANDLER WILLIAMS AND HARROLDSON LAW FIRM OF  
NEW YORK FOR FURTHER DETAILS AND TRAVEL  
ASSISTANCE STOP

~ o - - - - - - - - - - o ~

The telegram fell out of his shaking hands and fluttered to the table. Mick retrieved it and after glancing at it looked worriedly at his friend. "Darrel, are you OK? Do you know who Devin is?"

Darrel looked over at Mick. "It's me."

~ x x x x x ~

The understated but elegant limousine pulled up outside of the row of brownstones in the heart of New York and the tall good-looking man stepped out. He looked up at the front of the building then looked nostalgically down the lightly snow covered street to where he could see the park just two blocks away. The only flaw to his immaculate appearance was the three prominent scars on his left cheek. For a moment he nearly succumbed to the urge to run down that street and into the park just to see if a certain drainage culvert was still where he remembered it. Reluctantly he turned back to face the row of brownstones and he rechecked the address on the piece of paper he was holding. This was definitely the right address. Whoever lived here had to be reasonably well off to live in a place this close to Central Park. The airline tickets had been first class and the return ticket was open ended with only a twenty-four hour advanced notice required. That was not cheep, nor was that Limo that had picked him up at the airport. The sight of the familiar snowy streets as he had neared the park had brought a tear to his eye and the sight of the carrousel as the taxi had passed through the park had brought a lump to his throat.

He was very uncertain about intruding on a stranger on Christmas day but the urgent note, that had been stuck in with his airplane ticket, had specifically said that he was to come to this address as soon as he got in, regardless of the date or the time. For the thousandth time he found himself wondering what all this could be about. The self protective part of him was urging him to turn now and make a dash for the culvert and the safety beyond the secret door. The scared runaway child in him was urging him to head back to the airport and take the first flight out that he could get on. The curious adventurer in him was urging him to see this through, if only to find out why.

The curious adventurer finally won out and he stepped up to the door. One more time as he finally stood before the front door, he again wrestled with his doubts. He had not really been in control of the situation since he boarded that plane in Australia. It was a major act of will to press the doorbell. The door was opened almost immediately and he found himself facing a elegantly dressed, very pretty woman. Out of habit he automatically scanned and categorized the person before him. Female, very beautiful and obviously well off. He caught sight of the wedding ring. Married. Too bad.

The woman was studying him in return. She surprised him by gently reaching out and touching he scars on his cheek. Then in a very pleasant voice she asked a very common question that he had a million answers for. "Where did you get those?"

His brain went blank. Something about the look in those mesmerizing green eyes, chased all of his glib answers right out of his head. After a second he haltingly answered. "Um, my, ah, I got it in an altercation with my, ah, brother."

She cocked her head. "your brother did that?"

Some how he just couldn't bring himself to lie to her. "Well he wasn't really my brother. We were both taken in by the same people but we were as close as brothers."

She smiled and stepped back from the door. "Please come in . . . Devin."

Just about the time she closed the door he realized that it was the three scars that she had been most interested in to prove his identity and felt a moment of disorientation as she stepped past him. Then she called out to someone else. "Dear, you can come out now. There's someone here you will want to meet."

Vincent cautiously stepped out from the kitchen. Both men were stunned by what they saw.

"Merry Christmas to the both of you." Catherine stated simply. Then much to Devin's surprise she kissed Vincent and headed into the other room that Vincent had just come out of.

"Vincent? But how?" Devin glanced at the doorway the young woman had disappeared through. Then he glanced around at the gaily decorated parlor and finally at the brightly twinkling Christmas tree beside the cheerily blazing fireplace. Finally his gaze returned to Vincent, who appeared to be just as stunned as he was.

At this moment the beautiful young woman reappeared carrying a tray laden with snacks which she set on the coffee table. "Welcome to our home Devin. My name is Catherine but my friends call me Cathy." She blithely continued talking as though totally unaware of the shocked state of both Vincent and Devin. "Come, sit. I'm sure you and Vincent have a lot of catching up to do." She turned toward Vincent. "Vincent, dear, will you serve the tea?"

As Vincent approached the coffee table as in a dream, Devin blurted out. "Who are you?"

Vincent finally shook off his shock as he answered. "This is Catherine Chandler . . ."

"Wells, Dear. Catherine Wells." She interrupted.

". . . Catherine Chandler-Wells." Vincent corrected. "She is my wife."

Devin sat down heavily in the nearby love seat gazing at Vincent. "Wife? You're married?" He blinked then another thought occurred to him and his gaze shifted to Catherine. "Chandler?" He had established before leaving Australia that the telegram had come from a well established and successful law firm.

"Yes, the Charles Chandler that you talked to is my father." She and Vincent clasped hands as they sat down on the sofa across the coffee table from Devin.

_**Continued in Part 12**_

* * *

'**Beauty and the Beast'** and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures. No infringement on copyrights is intended. This story is presented merely for the enjoyment of fans. Original concepts and story elements may be used by other authors as long as appropriate credit is given.


	12. Brothers

**The Road Not Taken****  
**(An Alternate Universe Story)_  
By Thomas Mc_

* * *

**Part 12 : ****Brothers**

Devin gazed at the couple sitting across from him in a combination of disbelief and wonder. By the time he had left the tunnels, the fact that he could not take Vincent with him had finally been driven home, along with the understanding that the person he thought of as his furry little brother was not ever going to have a normal life. Now here Vincent was, living in a nice brownstone near the park and married to a very beautiful and fairly well to do society debutant. He shook his head trying to completely reorient his universe to include this new situation.

After a moment he spoke asking the first question that this situation suggested to him. "Is the old man still around?"

Catherine frowned and looked at Vincent wondering who Devin was referring to. Vincent squeezed her hand as he answered. "Yes, Devin, Father is alive and well."

"And how did he feel about this?" Devin gestured toward the two of them.

Catherine was beginning to comprehend what it was that bothered Devin. "Father was the one that married us in his library. Vincent and I have been friends for twelve years. By the time we got married I think Father had finally resigned himself that it was inevitable. In fact I don't think anyone was really surprised when we announced our engagement." She chuckled. "But I think he is still a bit in shock over the idea of us living here." She waved her hand at the home that surrounded them.

"But doesn't it get a bit confining during the day?" Devin asked with a shrug.

Vincent answered. "That's not a problem. We have an access to the tunnels in our basement. Also I still have our old chamber down in the tunnels when we want to get away. I also spend a lot of time below when Catherine is away at school."

"Away at school?" Devin asked frowning.

"Catherine is going to Columbia Law School." Vincent announced as he gazed at her proudly. "This is her Christmas Break. Next week, she has to go back to school for another, much too long, semester." He paused a moment as he patted her hand that was resting on his forearm. "I will admit that it can get a bit lonely up here when she's away." He glanced at her and squeezed her hand affectionately then looked back at Devin. "What are your plans for the immediate future?"

Catherine jumped in before Devin could reply. "I do hope that you will stay with us for a while. Vincent would love the company, especially after I go back to school." She glanced over at Vincent.

Devin paused gazing at them. "Well I, ah, I have no definite plans at the present, though I had been thinking about heading to Nepal and try to climb the Himalayas, get a look at the monks that are supposed to live up there, but even that plan is still, pretty much, in the 'someday' stage. I very rarely plan that far in advance."

The rest of the afternoon was spent in pleasant conversation and catching up with events in each other's lives since Devin had left. Devin was fascinated by Catherine and wanted to know more about the woman that had given herself whole heartedly to his little brother and, as a result, completely changed his life.

Devin shook his head, his eyes showing an impish sparkle. "I still don't get it little brother. How did you ever attract a catch like her with that furry mug of yours? Must be the voice. I'd be a wealthy man if I could figure out a way to bottle that voice and sell it."

Vincent felt a sudden sharp stab of surprise and anger shoot through Catherine as she bristled at Devin's words. He knew that she was unable to sense the deep brotherly affection, the love, within Devin that had accompanied his words. With Devin it was the classic male bonding insults, the age old banter that reminded him of their days as children together. He squeezed her hand and she glanced at him, surprised at the unexpected warm feelings Devin's words had created in her lover.

"Catherine happens to like this fuzzy mug of mine." He spoke rather haughtily. "As for my voice . . . I'm afraid you will just have to rely on your own natural wit and charm . . . meager though they may be."

"Ow." Devin clutched his chest dramatically. "Right through the heart." Then they both started to chuckle.

Catherine glanced from one to the other. "Men!" She shook her head, mumbling with an exasperated sigh. "What am I going to do with the two of you? Must be a guy thing. Daddy and Peter act just like that when they get together." She shook her head. "I swear sometimes they sound more like old enemies than old friends when they really get rolling."

As the afternoon wore on, eventually Devin got around to asking Catherine how she had found him in Australia. Catherine told him about the story that Mattie had told back at school which had, in turn, led Catherine to him.

Soon it was dinner time. Catherine insisted that Devin should stay with them so he and Vincent could spend more time together, especially after she went back to school. Devin finally relented to Catherine's insistence and decided to stay with them for a while. After dinner Devin and Vincent settled into the parlor before the fireplace and talked over old times. Catherine sat there and enjoyed listening to them telling tales on each other. It wasn't long before they had her alternating between tears of pathos over the impossible dreams they had, and tears of laughter over the mischief they would get into.

Later that evening, Catherine retired to the bedroom to call her father and report on how the Christmas surprise had gone, and fill him in on some of the things she had learned. After the call she set up one of the spare bedrooms for Devin. Finally she went back down to the parlor and continued listening to them until they all decided it was time to go to bed. Though no lovemaking was involved that night, Catherine and Vincent both fell asleep in a state of contented bliss.

~ x x x x x ~

It was the day after Christmas and Peter was heading 'Below' to visit his oldest friend, Jacob. He had known Jacob so long that they felt more like brothers than just friends. He was surprised to run into his second oldest friend, Charles, at the top of the north spiral stairs. "Charles, fancy meeting you here." Peter remarked with a grin.

Charles smiled at his friend. "Vincent and Catherine are spending the holiday together which leaves me with an empty house and time on my hands, so I thought I'd just head down to see Jacob." He responded. "What about you?"

Peter gazed suspiciously at Charles. That answer had been a bit too glib, too rehearsed and there was almost a hint of a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. Charles had something on his mind and Peter was now very curious. Did Vincent and Cathy come up with some new outrageous adventure that Charles was about to spring on Jacob? After a moment's pause he responded. "Ruth and the girls have gone out to hit all the after Christmas sales. I figured visiting Jacob would take my mind off the damage they might be doing on our bank account." Both men chuckled at the age old joke.

After a few seconds Charles spoke again. "I saw Susan at Winterfest but I never got a chance to talk to her." Charles glanced over at Peter. "How does she like medical school so far?"

"She says that it's a lot of hard work but she loves it." Peter grinned back at Charles. "Vincent tells me that Cathy is positively thriving in law school."

"Yea, she is." Charles grinned back at Peter. "You know the best thing about the connection between Cathy and Vincent is that all I have to do is talk to Vincent to find out how she's doing." He grinned. "Sometimes I envy those two. When Caroline and I were married there was a line in our ceremony that went '. . . and bind my life, my heart and my soul to yours . . .' With Cathy and Vincent that isn't just a line." He cocked his head as his eyes took on a faraway look. "For them it is their reality. Their souls really are bound together in a way that I will never be able to truly comprehend."

Peter reached out and clapped his good friend on the back. "Yes my friend, those two have something truly unique and special. Something this tired old world has never seen before." He nodded his head. "And when they are gone we will probably never see its like again. We will all be diminished for its absence." For a while both men continued down the stairway in silence, each immersed in his own thoughts. Peter was thinking about how much the friendship of Charles and Cathy had affected Jacob. Jacob had mellowed out a lot just as a result of Charles giving him his unconditional friendship. It amazed him that those two came from totally different backgrounds yet they had become very close friends. In fact Charles and Cathy were from exactly the same type of background that Margaret and her father had come from which made Jacob's acceptance of Charles and his daughter even more remarkable.

As they came to the landing at the main community level, they stopped to rest. It was a fairly long descent. "I swear if I thought Jacob would let me I'd have an elevator installed in this shaft." Charles shook his head, grinning at his friend.

Peter laughed. "Someone did make a similar offhand comment within Mouse's hearing about a month ago. You should have seen the outlandish 'gizmo' he dreamed up."

Charles chuckled. "I can just imagine. I've seen some of his designs. Some of them are pretty far out and impractical, but they are also usually very ingenious. It makes me wonder what he could do with a little basic engineering training."

A couple of minutes later the two men entered the library to find Jacob sitting at his desk studying some type of diagram. Peter spoke up. "Hey it's the holidays Jacob don't you ever rest?"

Jacob looked up in surprise at his unexpected guests. "Oh, ah . . . well, I, ah . . ." He glanced down at the chart then back up. "I've been thinking of expanding out on the dining chamber level. We've already got a dozen living chambers on this level, including Vincent's chamber and my chamber." He pointed at the chart. "We could easily put in two or three dozen living chambers along these tunnels beyond the dining chamber and add a second dining chamber entrance right here." He stabbed his finger at the spot on the chart. Then he moved his finger halfway down the chart. "This large double chamber could be converted to a boy's and girl's dorm to help hold all those orphan children that we keep taking in off the streets"

Charles spoke up. "Come on Jacob, the tunnels will still be there tomorrow. Put that stuff away and come join your friends for a little Christmas cheer in the dining chamber." Charles' grin widened. "We can sample some of that . . . 'cheer' . . . that I heard Cathy sent down for Christmas Eve . . . if there's any of it left."

~ o ~

A short time later Charles and Jacob were deep in a hard fought game of chess while Peter watched. He had always thought that the fact that the two men were so evenly matched at chess had gone a long way to cementing their friendship. Peter mused about how both men tended to attack the game of chess the same way. Neither one of them seemed to be able to think more than two, (or occasionally three), moves ahead, even though both of them were extremely intelligent men and quite capable of taking the long view in their lives and work.

Charles moved his pawn then spoke. "Jacob, you remember that long talk we had about Devin last summer?"

Jacob glanced up at this sudden change of subject. "Yes, I hadn't realized how badly I had handled that situation with Devin until you pointed it out and told me what Vincent had told you about that day." After about a second he reached out and moved his queen. "I just wish I could see him again. Tell him how sorry I am. Try to make things right."

Charles reached out to his knight then looked up at Jacob. "I can arrange that. If you really want to patch things up between you two." He set the knight on its new location.

"What . . . how?" Jacob looked up startled.

"Catherine found Devin. He had been living in Australia for the last three or four years." Charles replied.

"Devin is alive?" Jacob gazed at Charles in surprise, the chess game forgotten. "You don't know how much that means to me. Can you get in touch with him?" He asked hopefully.

Charles smiled. "Devin arrived in New York Yesterday and spent Christmas with Catherine and Vincent. He was Catherine's Christmas present to Vincent and, as it turned out Vincent was her Christmas present to Devin. She told me last night that Devin is a bit uncertain of the reception he might get if he visited the tunnels. I told her that I would find out."

Jacob stared back at Charles in disbelief. There was a suspicious glimmer in his eyes.

Charles glanced momentarily over at Peter to see a similar look in his face then continued. "From what Catherine told me last night, he is still the same restless, and reckless, person he was as a boy. For Devin those are not necessarily bad traits. Those traits led him into many adventures all around the world and he has helped many people that a more careful person would not have helped. He is also a very caring person. He taught himself how to be a doctor because there was no one else that could help the people he was staying with at the time. Catherine was thinking of bringing Devin below this evening if I thought he would be welcome."

"Yes . . . Yes . . . I want to see him." The desire to see Devin again was plain on Jacob's face.

Charles tilted his head. "Are you going to tell him the truth about you and him."

Jacob paused uncertain. "I, ah . . ." His voice trailed off.

"You should, you know." Charles continued. "You owe it to him. He needs to know who he is."

After a long pause, during which a dozen emotions crossed Jacob's face, he finally responded. "Your right. I should have told him long ago."

"Good, I'll send a message to Catherine . . ." He grinned at Jacob. ". . . Let her know that it's safe to bring Devin below." He cocked his head to one side. "Ah, it's your move."

~ o ~

Vincent, Catherine and Devin were sitting down for a quick lunch of cold-cut sandwiches when ten year old Rebecca came up from below with a note for Catherine. She read the note and grinned. Vincent could sense that she was both amused and pleased by the note. Catherine quickly scribbled something at the bottom of the note then gave the note and one of the sandwiches to little Rebecca and sent her back below.

Vincent watched Catherine for a moment after Rebecca disappeared into the basement, and then asked. "What was that all about?"

"Oh that was just a note from Daddy. He said that it looked like it would be safe for Devin to come below. Father promised to be on his best behavior."

Vincent and Devin looked at Catherine in surprise. Then Devin blurted out. "The old man knows I'm here?"

"He does and he's expecting us for dinner tonight." Catherine proclaimed, grinning broadly.

~ o ~

Devin took one last look in the mirror as he nervously adjusted his shirt and jacket. He heard Catherine calling to him from downstairs and hurried down to join her and Vincent in the parlor. Vincent patted him on the back. "Don't worry, I'll run interference if you need to escape."

They went down the back stairs into the basement. Devin glanced around. There was a laundry room under the stairs and a large combination wall unit that contained shelves, storage cabinets and a floor to ceiling wine rack. The rest of the basement was unfinished. There were four bottles of wine on the wine rack and most of the shelves were empty. There were a dozen unopened packing boxes scattered around the floor.

"Looks like you're still moving in." Devin commented.

"We've only been here for six months and Catherine has been away at school for most of it." Vincent responded.

Catherine grinned. "When I'm home we usually have better things to do with our time." She grabbed the wine rack and pulled, causing it to swing away from the wall and exposing a rough cut tunnel behind it. "It may be very cliché but then, that's why no one ever really thinks to look for it here."

The three of them passed through the short tunnel and into the utility tunnel. Soon they were in the forgotten tunnels far below the subway and headed downward.

The first stop once they reached the home tunnels was Vincent's chamber. The first thing that caught Devin's attention was the large statue of blind justice. He had already heard the story of how it got there but it was a lot larger than he had expected. The next thing he noticed was the occasional evidence of Catherine's presence scattered around the chamber. He was amused to notice that the toy carousel was in a prominent location on top of one of the two dressers. Vincent informed him that it had been Catherine's idea. After a few nostalgic minutes they headed to the library chamber.

~ o ~

Jacob was pacing as his emotions swung wildly from anticipation to dread and back again. The pipes had announced the arrival of Vincent, Catherine and an unknown stranger in the tunnels about ten minutes ago. He glanced over at Charles and Peter for reassurance and moral support.

Charles was trying to give him some helpful advice. "Just remember what Cathy told me. Devin left because he didn't think you wanted anything to do with him and didn't care why he did the things he did. The carousel incident took on a whole deferent meaning after Catherine got Vincent and Devin's sides of the story." Charles paused as Jacob nodded silently in response then continued. "The second thing Cathy told me was that Devin never came back because he didn't think he would be welcome. It was easier to just cut all ties completely."

Jacob thought about what he had been told. After Charles had reported the story that Catherine had relayed, Jacob realized that he had over reacted to that incident and driven Devin away. He had assumed the worst and never really given Devin the chance to explain his side. "What's taking them so long?"

"They probably stopped at Vincent's chamber along the way. They will be along soon enough." Charles told him with a pat on his back. "Just relax. I know Devin is just as nervous as you are."

All three men were alerted to the sound of voices coming from the tunnel opening at the top of the iron spiral stairs. Charles leaned in close and spoke quietly. "Remember to hear him out and be sure to get all the facts before you say anything." He gave Jacob's arm a gentle squeeze and let go.

At that moment Devin, Vincent and Catherine appeared at the top of the spiral staircase. Jacob uttered past a tight throat. "Devin? . . . You changed. . ." He lost his words as his emotions overpowered him. Then at Vincent's urging, Devin made his reluctant way down the stairs, followed by Vincent and Catherine.

At the bottom of the stairs Devin paused, looking around at the library. Vincent moved over to stand beside Peter while Catherine remained close to Devin. Finally Devin spoke into the awkward silence. "A lot has changed in here."

Jacob was about to say something about how long Devin had been gone without a word but managed to restrain himself. Catherine spoke up. "The spiral stairway and the metal upper level were a gift from Mouse and Vincent. Mouse retrieved it from a building that was being demolished and he and Vincent reassembled it in here."

There was another short span of silence then finally Jacob spoke. "It's been so long . . . we thought, ah, you know after all these years. . ." He stopped as he began to get choked-up. "We had no idea if you were alive or dead." He blinked, looking down as he gathered his scattered wits. "We've missed you, Devin. **I've** missed you. Where have you been all this time?"

After a moment's hesitation, Devin replied. "I've been around the world." Devin glanced over at Vincent, standing beside Peter. He felt a lump in his throat at the memory of their childhood together. "I've been everywhere, from south of Oz to north of Shangri-La. I've been a respected professor, a knife thrower in a carnie, a decorated soldier, a famous chef." He turned his gaze on Jacob. "I've even been a doctor." He raised his hands, a look of wonder on his face. "I delivered a baby, there were complications, and I performed a cesarean."

Jacob had a momentary urge to chastise Devin for his irresponsibility when he felt Charles hand touch his elbow and he remembered what Charles had told him about Devin teaching medicine to himself because there was no doctor anywhere near the village where he was staying. He looked at Devin and saw the almost painful desire for approval in his eyes.

Devin continued. "Mother and child came through it just fine. They even named the baby after me." He grinned self-depreciatingly. "Although I was using the name 'Harvey' at that time."

Jacob finally responded. "Sounds like you did well. Where did you get your training?" He then cringed as he saw the look in Devin's face at the question.

"I had some medical books." Devin tensed up waiting for the expected criticism.

Jacob felt Charles standing just behind his right side as he thought. "Were there no other doctors available?"

Devin seemed momentarily at a loss for words at getting a question instead of the expected criticism. "The nearest doctor was five hundred miles away and travel in that region is extremely difficult. I was all they had for nearly a year."

"Sounds like you did the best you could under difficult circumstances." Jacob replied. He noticed a look of surprised disbelief on Devin's face and a smile of approval on Catherine's face. Jacob took a deep breath to steady his nerves then hesitantly spoke up. "Devin, I know that I've made mistakes when you were young . . . I just want you to know that I had reasons, they weren't good reasons, but it wasn't because I didn't care about you."

"I know. It was because you blamed me for my mother's death." Devin responded a bit bitterly. Catherine touched Devin's shoulder and gave it a light squeeze. Devin had been about to continue but held his tongue at her gentle warning.

"No Devin, that's not it." Jacob jumped in, buoyed by Charles' quiet encouragement. "I was so worried about playing favorites that I went too far the other way, trying not to favor you above the other children." Jacob was practically shaking with the intensity of his emotions then he felt Charles hand at his elbow helping to steady him.

Devin stared at Jacob in surprise for a moment then responded. "Why?"

Jacob barged ahead. "Because you're my son." He blurted out. "Your mother and I were in love and you are our child."

For several seconds the only sound was the staccato tapping on the pipes as Devin stared at Jacob in stunned confusion. Vincent was nearly overwhelmed by the thick swirling emotions that were coming from every person in the room. Even he was stunned by this newest revelation. He had always thought of Devin as a big brother. Now it turned out that he was, in fact, his adopted big brother.

Jacob glanced around at the others in the room. To him, everyone here was family. He often thought of Peter and Charles as his brothers in everything but blood. Then he finally broke the silence. "Grace knew how dangerous pregnancy was for her but she never told me about her medical condition. She had you because she wanted to give me something very special. For a long time I couldn't look at you without being reminded of what it cost me, but I still loved you because you were Grace's child." He pause a moment blinking back the tears. "And because you are my son."

Devin took a hesitant step toward Jacob. Charles urged Jacob to take a step toward Devin as Catherine urged Devin to take another step toward Jacob. They were now less than four feet apart.

"I missed you, Devin, and I'm glad you're back." Jacob shuffled his foot a bit. "I hope you will stay for a while."

Charles winked at Catherine and they both nudged at the same time. Devin and Father were now face to face.

"I ah, I told Vincent that I would stay with him for a while." Devin glanced over his shoulder at Catherine then back at Jacob. "I promised Catherine that I would keep Vincent out of trouble while she was at school."

Vincent, Catherine and Peter both snorted at that and Jacob lowered his head trying not to laugh. Finally he responded. "I, ah, I think Vincent would be very disappointed if you didn't get him into some trouble while you were here." He looked up. "Welcome back Devin . . . My son." Then the two of them were embracing.

~ x x x x x ~

A week later Catherine headed back to school. Devin got a part time job and ended up spending a lot of time below with Jacob and Vincent. With the exception of a couple of minor storms, the relationship between him and his father steadily improved. Devin ended up staying in New York for nearly six months before the wild goose finally led him off to Nepal.

_**Continued in Part 13**_

* * *

'**Beauty and the Beast'** and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures. No infringement on copyrights is intended. This story is presented merely for the enjoyment of fans. Original concepts and story elements may be used by other authors as long as appropriate credit is given.


	13. Prosecutor

**The Road Not Taken****  
**(An Alternate Universe Story)_  
By Thomas Mc_

* * *

**Part 13 : Prosecutor**

**Spring 1983**

Catherine looked out at the crowd as she held her diploma aloft. Her eyes zeroed in on the three men that had influenced her the most as she grew up. She grinned. It meant so much to her that all three of them had shown up for this occasion. Foremost was Charles Chandler, who had been forced to be both father and mother after she had lost her mother at age ten. On one side of him sat Peter Alcott, family physician, mentor and occasionally surrogate father. He had been there from the beginning when he had delivered her. On the other side of her dad sat Jacob Wells, who had become her third role model when she had stumbled across his son and his secret world just before she turned eleven years old and now was her father-in-law.

The three men cheered as Catherine exited the stage, triumphantly holding the diploma up high. How many girls could say that they had three caring father figures to look up to, and one of them was also her father-in-law. Tomorrow all three men would be witnessing Peter's oldest daughter's graduation from medical school and Catherine would be home with Vincent enjoying their own private celebration. As it was, though he couldn't be there, she could feel Vincent's emotional cheer over the empathic link that bonded their souls together.

As she returned to her seat she caught sight of Joe Maxwell's mother and sister. They had a lot to be proud of. Joe had started with a lot against him but he had persevered and, with the help of a scholarship arranged by her father, he had attended law school and done very well. For the last three years Catherine and Joe had been involved in a friendly competition for grades and points. The result had been that they both graduated near the top of their class, as well as becoming friends. Catherine often wondered what Joe would think if he knew that her father had arranged for Joe's scholarship.

Eventually it was Joe's turn and he crossed the stage to collect his diploma. Catherine, and the three men with her, cheered as enthusiastically for Joe as his own family.

~ x x x x x ~

As Catherine left District Attorney Moreno's office she had a good feeling about her interview. She glanced over at the bench near the entrance and spotted Joe sitting there. "Hi Joe. You applying here too?"

"Sure am, Radcliffe. I'm surprised to see you here. I always thought you would go to work in your father's firm after graduation." He grinned. "I always heard around campus that you were going to specialize in fashion law."

She grinned back over the old joke that had followed her all through law school. "Naw." She replied. "This has always been my been my goal." She raised one eyebrow. "After all someone has to do something about the criminally bad fashions some of those people wear out there." She chuckled as she nodded to the other four job hopefuls that were also waiting for their interviews.

"Joseph Maxwell." Called out Moreno.

Joe stood up. "We'll see who gets the slot." He threw her a jaunty salute as he headed for the office.

~ o ~

Around one o'clock, Catherine stepped into the Deli and dropped her bags on the floor beside her chosen table. They contained components for her female lawyer wardrobe, a small gift for Vincent, a couple of new metal working tools for Winslow and a large selection of spices for William. William was an excellent cook, able to make great meals out of just about anything, and Catherine was interested in seeing what he could do with a complete supply of all the best herbs and spices.

Catherine perused the menu at the counter then ordered what she wanted. She then sat down at her table with her sandwich and began skimming the paperwork that she had been given when she interviewed. It was a list of rules and requirements for an internship at the District Attorney's office. After a few minutes she looked up and spotted one of the other job candidates, a black girl, too young to be in the running for the ADA internship position, standing near the counter and looking for a place to sit. All of the tables in the deli were occupied. Catherine raised her hand to get the girl's attention then waved her over to the table she was occupying. A bit puzzled the young girl came over to Catherine's table.

She stopped looking down at Catherine a bit uncertainly. "Were you waving at me?"

"Yes, I saw you in the DA's office this morning and figured you were job hunting like me." Catherine smiled up at the young woman as she indicated the seat across from her. "Have a seat. My name is Cathy Chandler."

The young woman took the offered seat. "Hi, my name is Edie."

"So, what position were you applying for?" Catherine asked.

"Um, I'm applying for computer operator." Edie responded. "You're going for the ADA internship aren't you?"

"Yes, but there are two others trying for the same job." Catherine replied.

"You've nothing to worry about. You'll get the job." Edie responded.

"I wouldn't be so sure. The other two are just as qualified, especially Joe Maxwell, so it's still a tossup." Catherine shrugged.

"Oh, you're probably going to get it. I overheard them talking. Moreno leans a little toward Joseph Maxwell, because of his background and his GPA was just a tiny fraction higher than yours, but you are the better choice politically because of this affirmative action crap." Edie shrugged. "That's why I've got the computer operator position. My qualifications are equal to the one other applicant but I'm black and female which gives them two points on their quotas."

Catherine shook her head. "Somehow that just doesn't seem right." Indignation flashed in her eyes. "If Joe is the better candidate then he should get the job."

"Don't I know it. My father marched for equal rights with mister King." Edie shook her head. "He always told me that a person should be judged by their abilities and their character, not by the color of their skin or what sex they are."

Catherine smiled at Edie. "My father often said the same thing to me."

They spent the rest of their lunch talking about the legal profession and getting to know each other.

~ o ~

Moreno glanced up from his desk at the sound of a knock at his door frame to see Catherine Chandler standing there. He doubted that she knew that she already had the position she had applied for and suspected that she was going to do a little extra lobbying for the job. He was curious about what kind of argument's or inducement she was contemplating as he waved her in. "Come in Miss Chandler, what can I do for you?"

Catherine entered the office. "I wanted to withdraw my application for the intern position."

That development took him by surprise. After a moment to reorient his thoughts Moreno responded. "If that is what you wish, but do you mind if I ask why?"

Catherine had already thought out her answer to that question. "My father has offered me an internship with his law firm. I felt that I would get a much broader range of experience there. That will make me a more well rounded lawyer in the end. Once I pass the Bar I will be back to apply here." She shrugged. "I know that you have other qualified applicants for this position so I wont be missed."

After a few exchanged pleasantries Catherine left. Moreno sighed as he watched her walking away then pulled out the folder labeled Maxwell, J. Though her explanation made sense, he wondered if there wasn't something else driving her decision. He shrugged then told his assistant to call Joe Maxwell and have him come back in tomorrow.

~ x x x x x ~

**Spring 1984**

Catherine was practically bouncing as she entered her father's office. "I passed the Bar." She announced brightly, waving a piece of paper.

"Congratulations honey. I knew you could do it." Charles nodded and smiled. "I supposed that this means you will be leaving us soon." They were interrupted by the buzz of the intercom and Charles reached over and pressed the button. "Yes Margo?"

"Tom Gunther is here for his appointment."

Charles looked up at Catherine who nodded with a smile. Then he responded. "OK. Send him in." He glanced over at his daughter and shrugged. "No rest for the wicked."

About a half minute later Tom Gunther entered Charles' office and Charles introduced Tom to Catherine. Tom smiled and turned on the charm. It was apparent that he was interested in her. She thought Tom was nice enough but she wasn't interested. After exchanging a few words of meaningless small talk Catherine left her father's office. With someone like Vincent at home, no other man stood a chance with her.

~ x x x x x ~

Moreno looked up at Joe. "You knew her in law school. What do you think about her?"

Joe paused to consider his answer. "She's very sharp and very dedicated." He shook his head. "I don't know why she pulled out last year but, if it was my decision, I wouldn't hesitate to hire her. This time she comes to us with her license. I've only had my license for a couple of months." He chuckled. "Lord knows we can always use the extra help around here. Put her in investigations with me"

"You've got it Joe. Call her in."

~ x x x x x ~

**Fall 1984**

Catherine looked up and grinned as Joe approached her desk. "Well, what did Moreno say?"

Joe seemed to come out of a fog then his face broke into a big grin. "You are now addressing Assistant District Attorney Joseph Maxwell."

"Congratulations Joe. You deserve it." Catherine grinned back at him.

He chuckled. "And immediately after informing me of my promotion, Moreno handed me my first case."

"Which one did you get?"

Joe held up a thick file. "He gave me a brand new case that the police just filed. It's a murder case."

Catherine's eyebrows rode up her forehead. "He certainly threw you into the deep end of the pool."

Joe shrugged. "Moreno said the case is pretty solid but we will have to nail down a couple of loose ends or the defense might try to drag them out as cause for reasonable doubt."

"Well you can count on me if you need any help running down the loose ends." Catherine replied to him.

"Thanks, Radcliffe. I'll take you up on that offer. What do you say we get together tomorrow after I get moved into my new office and see what we've got."

"Sure thing, Joe"

~ x x x x x ~

Joe and Catherine were hovering over the papers spread across Joes new desk. ". . . so all the evidence points to Carter as the killer. Hickman was hired by the owner of Multi-Tek to investigate Carter. He was suspected of selling proprietary information to the company's competitors. During the investigation we think Hickman also discovered that Carter was running an embezzlement scam on the company as well. Hickman was murdered in his office before he could file his report to his client and his files were destroyed. Unfortunately for Carter, Hickman kept copies of his active files in a safe at his house. He had three open cases. The embezzlement case file led the police to Carter and they found further evidence once they started investigating him."

"I take it you want me to look into the other two open cases?" Catherine inquired.

"Once the police started investigating Carter, they pretty much ignored the other two open cases. Since the gun was never found, the defense could argue that it might have been the subjects of either one of his other two cases that killed Hickman and get Carter off on reasonable doubt. I need you to look into the other two cases and eliminate them as possible alternatives."

"So what are these alternatives you want me to look into?" Catherine asked.

"One was an unfaithful wife case and the other was a thirty year old missing person case." Joe handed her two folders.

~ o ~

Catherine set the folder of the missing person case on her in-tray. And opened the unfaithful wife case file. She had recognized the client's name as belonging to a couple from within her father's circle of friends. She knew the wife involved and didn't believe there was any infidelity there. She also remembered the husband as a rather suspicious type of person.

A quick scan of the file showed that Hickman's investigation had turned up negative. Catherine shoved the file into her case and headed for the client's house. After a quick meeting with the client, she established that he had not received the final report. She checked out his alibi for the night Hickman had been murdered. It turned out that husband and wife had been at a political fundraising party in Albany.

Catherine gave the man a copy of Hickman's report and a quick lecture on marriage and trust.

~ x x x x x ~

Catherine opened the missing person case folder and began to look through it. Within seconds she felt a chill run up her spine. Hickman had been hired to find out what had happened to a medical researcher that had disappeared thirty years ago shortly after being blacklisted by the House Un-American Activities Committee. His name was Jacob Wells. By the time she finished reading the file she was convinced that this Jacob Wells and Vincent's Father were one and the same.

She went back and checked the name of the client. It was a lawyer named Alan P. Taft. She called his office and, after identifying herself as a member of the New York District Attorney's Office, made an appointment to see him the next morning.

As soon as Catherine entered her home Vincent was waiting for her. "I've been feeling your confusing emotional state for the last two hours. What is it that has you so uneasy?"

"Someone is looking for Father." She stated simply as she handed the file to Vincent. She then set her brief case on the small table by the door and went over to the sofa with Vincent trailing behind while scanning the file she had handed him.

Vincent sat down rather hard on the sofa as the information sank in. He looked over at Catherine. "This is what drove Father to the tunnels?" He shook his head. "I knew that his life had been ruined by a corrupt politician but I never knew it had been this bad."

"This was supposed to be a simple open and shut investigation. I was just going to close this case to make sure that a murderer didn't get off with a 'reasonable doubt' defense, and now I'm in the middle of a bigger mystery that could endanger both the tunnels and the prosecution of Carter." Catherine shook her head. "I'm going to have to get to the bottom of this quickly."

"What are you going to do?" Vincent asked.

"First thing tomorrow morning, I'm going to go see the lawyer that hired Hickman," She glanced down at the bill for services in Vincent's hand. "Alan P Taft. I want to know why he was looking for Father. What I do next depends on what he tells me."

"Shouldn't we talk to Father about this?" Vincent asked her. He would have gone to Father first.

'Oh I will eventually but, before I do, I want to know what type of mess I'm stepping into."

~ x x x x x ~

Early the next morning, Catherine showed up at Alan Taft's office. Alan looked up as she entered. "Good morning Miss Chandler. Your call last evening was so mysterious. You wouldn't give my secretary even a hint as to what this was about. Normally I wouldn't take a meeting without some knowledge what it was about."

"Good morning Mister Taft. I do appreciate the time you have given me." She paused a moment then continued. "By the way, why did you accept this appointment?"

He smiled back. "Partly because I know your father. Mostly though it was simple curiosity. I just couldn't help wondering why, in the world, would someone from the DA's office want to speak to me."

Catherine jumped right in. "I wanted to know why you had a private detective looking for a person named Jacob Wells."

Alan Taft looked totally stunned by her question and took several moments to compose himself. "Before I answer that, can you tell me why you would be asking me that question?"

Catherine paused a moment before answering. "I am looking into the murder of the private detective in question. Yours was one of three cases he had open at the time of his death."

Alan took a long time in responding. "Can you tell me the name of this private detective?"

Now it was Catherine's turn to be surprised. "Don't you even know who you hired?"

Alan responded. "I have had more than one detective looking into this off and on over the last few years, so I do not know which detective you are looking into. As for 'why' . . . that would be a matter of attorney-client privilege."

Catherine shook her head. "Great. This just keeps getting better and better." She then looked him straight in the eye. "You and I both know that you can't withhold the name of your client if he is a potential suspect in a murder investigation. Failure to disclose that information would be considered obstruction of justice at the minimum." She gazed hard at him for a while then she relented a bit. "Look mister Taft, the police think that they already have a murder suspect in custody but the open cases leave a great big open 'reasonable doubt' hole in the prosecution's case. That means if that case starts to fall apart, they will be looking for an alternate suspect and that would put your client at the top of the suspect list and I will end up having to come back with a warrant."

Alan replied. "I still can't tell you what you want to know without conferring with my client first. I can do this for you though; if you will come back tomorrow, I will talk to my client and see if she will be willing to speak with you." He looked back unflinchingly at Catherine. "Otherwise you will just have to get that warrant."

Catherine knew that it would be the best she could get at present. At least she now knew that the client was female. "Very well Mister Taft. You have a deal."

Alan then spoke to his secretary and arranged an appointment for the next afternoon. Catherine thanked him for his time and left his office. All the way home her mind was in a state of turmoil. This case seemed to be spinning out of her control. Who was Alan Taft's client and why was 'she' looking for Father?

~ x x x x x ~

Catherine spent most of the morning carefully going over the private detective's case file. She was surprised to discover that Alan had been Jacob's lawyer during the Un-American Activities Committee hearings.

Immediately after lunch she was back at Alan Taft's office. When she entered there was an older woman waiting in there with Alan. Catherine greeted Alan, "Mister Taft.", as she glanced over at the older woman seated in the corner.

Alan nodded a greeting. "Miss Chandler." He indicated the older woman. "This is my client, Margaret Chase."

Catherine was momentarily startled as she recognized the name from the file. "Hello Miss Chase. I assume your lawyer explained to you what this was about?"

Margaret nodded. "He did. What is it that you need to know?"

Catherine took the chair next to Margaret, her demeanor very business like. "First off, I need to know why you have private detectives looking for Jacob Wells."

Margaret glanced over at Alan who nodded then she began to explain. "I wasn't trying to find Jacob as such, I doubt that I ever will. I just wanted to find out what happened to him."

"I still need to know why." Catherine insisted, her demeanor somewhat softer as she detected a hint of sadness in Margaret's voice.

"Where do I begin." She closed her eyes a moment then opened them. "If I hadn't been such a fool . . . When I remember what happened to him, what I did to him." She paused gazing at Catherine, Her pain now clearly showing in her eyes. "My father annulled our marriage and sent me to Paris. I would be lying if I said I fought him. I couldn't even blame him for what happened, because I knew Jacob was innocent and yet I didn't have the strength to stand by him. My last communication with him was a letter to tell him that I was in Paris and our marriage had been annulled." She stopped and swallowed the lump in her throat then she looked down at her hands, clasped together on her lap. "We knew each other so short a time." She paused for a couple of seconds trying to get her emotions under control. "It was only a short time later that he disappeared. No one knew what happened to him." The despair in her eyes tore at Catherine's heart. "I'm sure by now that he is gone and I feel that I lost something precious because of my cowardice. All I can hope for now is to find out what eventually happened to him." She blinked at the tears that had formed in her eyes. "I only hope he found some peace before the end." She was again staring down at her hands. Alan now stood beside her and placed his hand on her shoulder.

Catherine sat there in silence for a while thinking over what she had been told. Finally she responded. "Suppose I told you that I may have some information about Jacob Wells?" Margaret's head snapped up and hope flashed momentarily across her face. Alan looked over at Catherine in surprise as well. Catherine wrote her address on the back of her business card and handed it to Margaret as she continued. "If you will come by my place tonight around seven for dinner, I may have the answers you have been looking for."

Alan spoke up. "Why not tell us what you know, now. You can see how important this is to her . . . to both of us. Jacob was more than my client. He was my friend."

"I can't tell you anything yet until I have spoken to a few people." Catherine stood up. "I don't have anything for you now but I will have something for you this evening." She nodded to them, "My place, seven o'clock." and left.

_**Continued in Part 14**_

* * *

'**Beauty and the Beast'** and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures. No infringement on copyrights is intended. This story is presented merely for the enjoyment of fans. Original concepts and story elements may be used by other authors as long as appropriate credit is given.


	14. Reunion

**The Road Not Taken****  
**(An Alternate Universe Story)_  
By Thomas Mc_

* * *

**Part 14 : Reunion**

**Spring 1983**

Catherine's emotions were in as much turmoil as they had been yesterday. She knew what she wanted to do but she needed to talk to Vincent and her father first. She headed home knowing that Vincent would be there waiting for her. She could feel Vincent's _concerned_ presence inside the brownstone as she exited the taxi and raced up the front steps. Pausing just long enough to verify that Vincent was not in the front parlor she quickly opened and passed through the door. As soon as she closed and locked the front door, Vincent was standing before her. The next instant she was in his arms, holding him tight, soaking up the comfort of his arms around her.

After a few seconds Vincent spoke in response to the strong emotions he felt in her. "Tell me." He inquired simply. Catherine continued to hold tightly onto Vincent and bask in his _love_ and _comfort_ as she tried to regain control of her churning emotions. Vincent's words, requesting enlightenment, continued to hang in the quiet that surrounded them as she kept thinking of how devastated she and Vincent both would be if her father were to take her far away from Vincent.

Finally Catherine eased up on her hold and looked up into Vincent's face. "It was Margaret Chase that was looking for Father. She did not leave him willingly and she said that she is still in love with him. I believe her." She paused as her emotions threatened to well up again. "Margaret believes that Father is probably dead by now. She is simply looking for some kind of closure." She lay her head against Vincent's chest and again was holding him tight.

Vincent could feel the emotions that were ebbing and flowing through her and he suspected that he knew what she was thinking about. He felt the same way. He held her tight for a while. When he felt her emotions ease up he eased up his hold on her but still held her reassuringly close. He kissed the top of her head as it lay against his chest. "What are you planning to do?" He asked her, though he thought he had a pretty good idea what she wanted to do.

"I have invited her over this evening. I told her that I would have some information for her by then." She responded.

"And?" He felt her _uncertainty_ riding just below al the other emotions and knew she was holding back. She was working herself up to suggesting what she desired but she wasn't sure about his reaction to it.

After a few moments she finally responded, her head still pressed against his chest. "I was hoping to be able to take Margaret 'Below' to Father . . . but I want to talk to you and Daddy about it first." She paused again hesitant to bring up her most serious concern. She finally brought that problem out. "And I suspect that her lawyer will show up with her when she comes over this evening. He said that Jacob was more than his client. Jacob was his friend."

Vincent nodded his head. The presence of the lawyer was a surprise but the rest of it was more or less what he had expected once he heard that Margaret was the detective's client. "I think we should call your father immediately and see if he can come over this afternoon. He knows Father as well as anyone, except possibly Peter, and I trust his judgment. He could tell us if Father would welcome Margaret's appearance.

Catherine nodded her head and, after releasing her, they got on the phone to call Charles.

"Hello, Daddy? I, um, I need some advice and I was hoping you could come over this afternoon to talk."

Vincent added from the extension. "We both need your advice on a very personal matter involving Father." . . .

Catherine responded. "Yes. Vincent and I will both be home." . . .

Catherine smiled as she nodded her head. "That would be wonderful, Daddy." . . .

Vincent spoke. "Thank-you, Sir. We both appreciate that very much." . . .

Catherine finished. "We'll see you then. Love you, Daddy."

~ o ~

It was around three and Charles was brimming with curiosity and just a touch of uncertainty and worry as he approached Cathy's front door. The unusual and uninformative call had left him with the impression that she wanted his advice on something fairly monumental. The fact that she wouldn't give him details meant that whatever she wanted to talk to him about would involve the tunnels or Vincent or both. He already knew Jacob was somehow involved. He reached the front door and it was opened before he could press the doorbell. The look on his daughter's face was enough to confirm his guess.

"Come in, Daddy, I so glad to see you." Catherine took his hand and led him over to the sofa where Vincent was waiting for them. He noticed two folders on the coffee table as she indicated that he should have a seat. "Something has come up in my job that I really need your advice on."

Charles was now a bit worried. If something at the DA's office was related to the tunnels, this could spell disaster. "Just tell me what your problem is and I will do all I can to help."

Catherine handed him the original private detective's report and, while he looked through it, she described the background that led to her getting this particular investigation. Charles was immediately concurred at the thought of Jacob being involved in any way with a murder investigation. This could certainly put the tunnel community in jeopardy not to mention what having to tangle with the legal system might do to Jacob.

Charles looked up from the file. "I can certainly understand your concern."

Vincent spoke up at this point. "Actually that is only a minor problem. The whole situation took on a radically different direction when Catherine found out who that lawyer, Alan Taft, was representing." Vincent had Charles' complete attention now. "It was Margaret Chase."

A shock of recognition had shot through Charles at the mention of that name and it showed in his face. Catherine hurried to fill in the rest of the situation. Charles had learned most of Margaret and Jacob's history from Peter, and his many late night chess game discussions with Jacob had convinced him that Jacob still had strong feelings for Margaret even after all this time. After Catherine had finished laying out her dilemma, Charles sat there for a long time going over everything in his mind. There were so many different aspects to this situation and none of them contained any certainties.

"Do you mind if I use your phone for a moment?" Charles asked. "This is something that Peter might have a better perspective on." He explained.

"Sure, Daddy, go ahead."

Charles picked up her phone and dialed Peter's private number.

"Hello, Peter. It's Charles." . . .

"I have a question for you." . . .

"You've known Jacob longer than I have. How do you think Jacob would react if Margaret Chase suddenly showed up in the tunnels trying to get back together with him?" . . .

Charles nodded after several seconds. "That's more or less what I thought but I wanted your opinion on it." . . .

"Now the second question. How would he react if she was accompanied by his old lawyer Alan Taft?" . . .

"You really think so?" . . .

"In that case it might be a good idea for you to be down there to keep your eye on him, because one of those scenarios is likely to happen sometime after eight tonight." . . .

"Cathy is expecting those two to come over at seven-thirty tonight. They will be hoping to get some information about what happened to Jacob after he disappeared thirty years ago and Cathy says that Margaret is still in love with Jacob." . . .

"That's fine. I'll probably be seeing you 'Below' this evening, depending on how things go when we meet Margaret." . . .

"OK, Bye." He hung up the phone.

"What did he say?" Catherine asked.

"He mostly confirmed my own opinions." Charles returned to the sofa before continuing. "The first thing we must do is make sure that they will be able to handle everything that they will be exposed to if we take them 'Below'." He glanced over at Vincent. "I'm leaning toward introducing them to Vincent first. Vincent will be better able to judge their reliability as well as their ability to handle the tunnels."

"Are you sure that would be a good idea?" Catherine asked. "And what about Alan Taft?"

"I've dealt with Alan several times over the years and I believe he is a good man that can be trusted. If he gives his word on something, he will keep it. As far as Vincent is concerned, they will have to meet him eventually and it will probably be better if they meet him up front since Vincent is a major part of what happened to Jacob."

"What about Father?" Vincent asked.

"Jacob may fuss . . . a lot . . . but he will understand and forgive." Charles chuckled. "Especially for Margaret." He paused a moment in thought. "As for Alan, Peter said that he and Jacob were good friends and Jacob never blamed him for the way things turned out. On a couple of occasions he even considered the possibility of contacting him but never did."

The next few hours were spent discussing how to handle the upcoming encounter. Catherine called into work and reported the she was still investigating the missing person case but hoped to have it wrapped up soon. She told Joe that it shouldn't affect the murder trial.

~ o ~

As Alan and Margaret ascended the steps to the brownstone, Margaret was glad that Alan had insisted on accompanying her. Right now she needed his emotional support. Deep inside she was afraid of what she might learn. She had always felt responsible for the way Jacob's life had fallen apart. If only she had had the courage to stand by him, then, maybe, things might have turned out differently. Together they could eventually have weathered the storm and recovered. She smiled half-heartedly at Alan as he rang the doorbell.

A minute later the door opened and Catherine Chandler took in the fact that they were both there, nodded imperceptibly, and invited them in. As they entered the parlor, Alan recognized Charles Chandler standing over by the sofa loveseat group. Catherine spoke up. "Alan, I believe you know my father Charles Chandler. Daddy this is Margaret Chase."

The way Charles had been studying her since they entered made Margaret feel for a moment like she was under a microscope. Then Charles turned his attention to Alan and they shook hands, exchanging greetings. Charles then indicated that they should take a seat. Catherine took her seat next to her father.

Alan was the first to speak. "I believe you told Miss Chase that you would have some information about Jacob Wells for her this evening."

Catherine nodded. "Yes I did." She paused to glance over at her father then continued. "First of all I think a little history is called for." Her gaze fixed on Margaret. "After you went to Paris Jacob Wells felt like his whole world had fallen apart. He had lost everything he had ever cared about. He felt that the whole world had betrayed him." Catherine saw the pain those words caused her clearly showing on Margaret's face, which told her that she genuinely regretted what had happened. She had also felt Vincent's acknowledgement of her assessment. One question answered.

She took a breath and continued. "A slightly older woman named Grace found Jacob wandering in a state of lost hopelessness and took him to live among a small group of other lost people that had banded together for mutual support. Their community was hidden away from the rest of the world." Catherine could see by the shimmer in her eyes how hard this was on Margaret but she had to understand what had happened in order to understand the present. "After about a year, Grace became pregnant and eventually gave Jacob a son named Devin. Unfortunately Grace died in childbirth. This was a terrible blow to an already devastated Jacob. Despite all those devastating losses, Jacob persevered and over the next four years he slowly got his new life under control and achieved a prominent position of leadership among that small group of people." Catherine had watched the look of surprise and the slowly dawning look of hope grow in Margaret's eyes.

"About six years after Jacob had joined that group, Devin was about four, one of the members of that group found an abandoned newborn hidden in the trash behind Saint Vincent Hospital and took him to Jacob. They named him Vincent because of where he was found. The infant was very unusual looking but Jacob took the infant in and raised him as his own son. Because of his unusual appearance, it was not safe for Vincent to be seen. The hidden community where Jacob raised Vincent became more secretive and reclusive, mostly to protect Vincent. The community became a place of refuge taking in homeless children and people like Jacob that had nowhere else to go."

Catherine paused and Alan jumped in. "So what finally became of Jacob and that community?"

Charles stepped in. "When Cathy was ten she stumbled across Vincent and they became friends. About two months later I came across Cathy and Vincent together. I was afraid I was seeing things but I was even more afraid that I wasn't ant that frightening creature was attacking my daughter. Then Jacob appeared calling to Vincent and I discovered that it was only a tickling match between the two of them. Jacob and I became friends. Cathy and Vincent grew up together and three years ago they got married."

Margaret and Alan both looked confused. Alan asked the question that had occurred to both of them. "You called Vincent a frightening creature then seem unconcerned while saying that your daughter married him." Alan shook his head. "That doesn't make sense."

Catherine jumped in. "Well frightening is a relative term but it is part of why he has stayed out of the public eye."

"But what about Jacob?" Margaret asked, her emotions wavering between hope and uncertainty with a little confusion thrown in.

"I'm coming to that but first I want you to meet Vincent. It will help you to better understand what has happened and why it is so important that the secret of that hidden community be protected." She looked over her shoulder. "Vincent, Love, are you ready to meet our guests?"

"Yes, Catherine. I'm ready if you think that they can handle my appearance." The silk over gravel voice that issued from the back of the home was like no voice either of them had ever heard. The voice carried a raw masculine power that practically commanded respect from Alan and touched something very primal deep inside Margaret.

"They're about as prepared as they can be. Come on out." Catherine responded as she stood up.

Both were startled by the apparition that came around the corner from the small kitchen. It was a lion-man, and it was huge, and it was frightening. Catherine moved over next to Vincent and leaned into him as he put his arm around her. As Alan took in Vincent's size and the obvious claws on his hands, he couldn't help noticing how small, fragile and defenseless Catherine looked next to him.

Catherine looked back over at Alan and Margaret. "You can see now why we are so secretive about Vincent and Jacob's community." She glanced over at Charles. "If you can give us your word that you will never tell anyone else what you see and hear today, then we will be able to take you to see Jacob."

For several seconds the only sound in that room was the breathing of five people.

Margaret was the first to speak, her voice cracking with emotion. "Jacob is still alive?"

Vincent nodded. "Yes Father is very much alive, Margaret."

Margaret's eyes were brimming with tears, even as they took on a look of steely determination. "Please, I beg of you, I'll keep your secret, anything you ask. Just take me to Jacob. I know that I don't deserve him, but let me see him at least one last time."

Alan looked at Margaret for a moment then faced the three that sat across from him. "I also wish to see Jacob. I just want to assure myself that he is well and I feel I should be there for Margaret." His gaze centered on Vincent. "You have my word that I will keep your secrets. No one would believe me if I did tell anyone."

Catherine and Charles both looked over at Vincent. He gazed at Margaret and Alan for couple of moments then nodded his head. "They are both quite sincere and Margaret still cares very deeply for Father. I believe that they can be trusted."

Vincent took note of the combination of _surprise_, _curiosity_ and _uncertainty_ that rushed through Alan as well as the surprised look on his face. "How? . . ."

Catherine jumped in at this point. "Vincent can feel the emotions of anyone in the same room as him." She glanced at Vincent. "He cannot be fooled so if he says that you can be trusted then we trust you."

Alan glanced back and forth between Vincent and Catherine. "Are you telling me that He is a true empath?"

Catherine cocked her head in thought for a moment. "Yea, I guess you could say that."

"What about Jacob?" Margaret interrupted. "When can I see him?"

Catherine turned her attention to Margaret. "Is as soon as we get there soon enough?" She looked at Vincent. "Shall we?" She indicated the back of the brownstone.

Vincent nodded to Margaret. "If you will come with us, we will take you to him right now." Together they headed toward the back of the place, followed by Charles and finally Alan and Margaret.

Alan and Margaret glanced around puzzled as they descended the back stairs into the basement. Alan was wondering if this was a trick. They were both very surprised when Catherine swung the wine rack away from the wall to reveal an opening into a long tunnel. Catherine addressed the surprised and confused couple. "We told you that Jacob's community was hidden." She smiled at them then followed Vincent through the opening.

Charles indicated that Alan and Margaret should precede him then pulled the wine rack closed behind them.

Margaret looked around at the old utility tunnel they were traversing and began thinking how terribly sad it was that poor Jacob had ended up in these old dusty tunnels like some penniless, homeless bum. She glanced over at Catherine and that creature Vincent wondering why he couldn't live with them in that nice cozy brownstone. Alan, walking beside her, was thinking along similar lines. They then cut through a half hidden junction into some much older looking steam tunnels.

A couple of minutes later that passage cut across a very old abandoned brick walled tunnel that looked like it must predate the city itself. They turned down that tunnel and only went a sort way before they came to a large round chamber with a fifteen foot diameter circular shaft in the center of the floor. The shaft appeared to be bottomless and it had a spiral stone staircase running around the inside wall. As they started down into that shaft Alan and Margaret both glanced at each other.

Alan glanced downward at Vincent and Catherine in front of them, shrugged and quietly commented. "Curiouser and Curiouser." Then they heard Charles chuckle behind them and glanced back.

"I felt the exact same way the first time Jacob led Cathy and me down here. First I was angry that he was living in those old storm drains, but he led us past those and kept going down until I began to shift from anger to wonder."

~ o ~

Peter had showed up in Jacob's chambers about an hour and a half ago expressing a desire to spend some free time with his old friend and maybe beat him at a game of chess. They had ended up in the library chamber talking about the latest goings on in the tunnel community when the pipes announced that Charles, Vincent and Catherine were on their way down and they had two strangers with them.

Jacob looked very startled by the news. "What could those three be thinking? They should know better than to bring strangers here unannounced."

Peter placed his hand reassuringly on Jacob's shoulder. "Don't worry Jacob. Those three are not fools, I'm sure that they know what they are doing and Vincent would know if they were a danger to the tunnels. I would trust their judgment."

~ o ~

After a seemingly endless descent on the ancient spiral stone stairway, Catherine and Vincent led them into tunnels that had been cut through the natural rock and interconnecting with the occasional natural chamber or passage. They began to notice an almost continuous staccato clanking sound like metal on metal.

"What is that sound?" Margaret asked as she looked around half in wonder at their current environment.

"That is people . . . talking to each other on the pipes." Catherine answered.

"What are they saying?" Asked Alan.

"Right now they're mostly talking about the two strangers that we are bringing below." At that point they passed a small side chamber that looked for all the world like a one room apartment. The couple inside the small apartment like chamber stared curiously out at them as they passed by, staring in. As they continued on they passed more of those apartment chambers and both of them began to get the idea that there was a sizable community down here. They also soon noticed that there seemed to be a disproportionately large number of children running around.

~ o ~

Jacob looked up at the group that was entering his library. It was only a matter of moments before he recognized the woman that was hurrying down the spiral stairs toward him. He would know that face anywhere despite the accumulated years "Margaret?" He asked hesitantly as he tried to convince himself that this was real.

Margaret stopped within arm's reach as though unsure of her reception. "Jacob . . . oh Jacob!

Jacob blinked trying to clear the tears that were beginning to well up in his eyes. "You're too beautiful." He swallowed. "I, I can't believe you're here." The shimmer in his eyes became more pronounced.

Margaret's eyes were developing the same type of shimmer as his. "No words. Just . . . hold me . . . Hold me."

Then they were in each other's arms. Then they were kissing.

At the top of the stairs Alan was looking around the amazing underground library in open wonder. Despite that amazing view though his eyes kept being drawn to the embracing couple standing in the center of the lower level. Then he noticed the tall motionless, and vaguely familiar, figure standing over by the chessboard. The tall man was not dressed like the rest of the inhabitants of this strange place. Then he remembered the doctor friend of Charles. He glanced over at the unusual trio that had escorted him and Margaret down here. "This place is totally incredible." He commented shaking his head. "I never would have guessed that all this existed right below my feet." His gaze centered on Vincent. "I certainly never would have suspected the existence of someone like you." He smiled. "I'll have a tough time convincing myself that it wasn't a dream once I return to the city above."

Vincent responded. "As Margaret's friend and lawyer to both Margaret and Father, I suspect you will be visiting us here quite often." Vincent spotted another un noticed figure standing obscured in one of the lower doorways and started down.

On the lower level, the reunited couple separated just enough to look into each other's eyes their vision was blurred by the tears in their eyes.

Margaret spoke. "You've made a remarkable world here Jacob," She blinked. "I've never felt so at peace as I do now in your arms in this place."

Jacob also blinked, his voice awash with his emotions. "And all these years I've dreamed of showing it to you."

Margaret lowered her head. "If only I hadn't been such a . . . fool . . ." She was to choked-up to continue.

Jacob gently touched her chin and raised her head till she was again looking into his eyes. "Margaret, all is forgiven, I let go of that anger years ago." He kissed her forehead. "Yes there was a time when I gorged myself on bitterness and self-pity. . . But then I met someone who had every reason to curse fate, and yet he accepted all that life had to offer, with gratitude and love."

She blinked twice then responded. "Vincent?" Jacob nodded and she continued. "We must do that too."

Then they were kissing again.

Vincent had noticed Mary standing alone in the lower tunnel opening watching all this and now joined her. He could feel _happiness_ and _sadness_ coming from her in equal measure. He put his arm around her shoulder offering some comfort as Catherine and Peter joined them. Alan and Charles were still at the top of the stairs, taking it all in.

_**Continued in Part 15**_

* * *

'**Beauty and the Beast'** and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures. No infringement on copyrights is intended. This story is presented merely for the enjoyment of fans. Original concepts and story elements may be used by other authors as long as appropriate credit is given.


	15. Corruption

**The Road Not Taken****  
**(An Alternate Universe Story)_  
By Thomas Mc_

* * *

**Part 15 : Corruption**

Catherine, Vincent and Mary were sitting together in the corner of the library. Jacob had gone off with Margaret to show her his subterranean world. Charles and Peter had taken Alan Taft on a tour of the tunnel community. The slight slump in Mary's shoulders bothered Catherine and Vincent was also concerned for her.

Catherine took Mary's hand as she spoke up, concern in her voice and manor. "Mary, I truly believe that bringing Father and Margaret together was the right thing to do, but I can't help worrying about how this affects you. Vincent and I both know haw you feel about Father. Are you going to be OK with what has happened?"

Mary looked up at Catherine, her conflicted emotions clearly reflected in her eyes. "I'll be OK Catherine." She paused glancing toward the doorway that Jacob and Margaret had exited through. "I had my chance back before we found Vincent and I knowingly passed it by."

Vincent commented. "I never heard anything about that."

Mary smiled sadly. "It was Grace and Jacob that found me and brought me here. They were already becoming an item by then. I was so lost and alone. Grace gave me her friendship and we became very close back then. She confided to me that, though they loved each other, Jacob's heart truly belonged only to the woman that he had been married to. She said that in his heartbreak, he had turned to her for comfort and if that was all she could be to him, she would take what she could get." Mary's glance swept the library chamber, full of memories of Jacob. "I have always known that no one would ever be able to replace Margaret in Jacob's heart . . . Though I never knew her name 'til today. After Grace died, I did whatever I could to be there for Jacob. About two years after Grace died he did broach the subject of marriage but I didn't accept. I knew that I could never be what he really needed. I could never give him children and I didn't think I could be truly happy living in the shadow of his lost wife. But the one thing I could do for him was to be there to support him." She centered her attention on Vincent, reaching out to touch his cheek the way she had done innumerable times before. "A year later, Anna found you and a short time latter you became the center of his universe. You came closer than anyone else, even Devin, to filling that void in his life."

Vincent touched Mary's hand on his cheek. "But what about your happiness? You have as much right to a happy life as any of us."

Mary swept her hand, indicating the tunnel community as a whole. "I have my happiness all around me. I have all the children that we have taken in and raised down here. I think of every single one of them as mine, especially you, Vincent. I have the joy I see in the two of you and I even have the joy I saw in Jacob's eyes a few minutes ago to warm my heart." Mary smiled a little more warmly. "My disappointment is for a relationship that I have always known could not be."

~ o ~

Hours later, Charles and Alan returned to the library chamber. Alan had a slightly dazed look on his face.

"Mary, this is Alan Taft. He was Jacob's lawyer and friend." Charles indicated the man with him. "Alan, this is Mary. I told you about her role in the tunnels."

"Nice to meet you." Mary responded politely.

"It is a real honor to meet you, Mary." Alan responded grinning. "Charles has told me about how much you do for this community. You have my admiration and respect." He held out his hand to her. "It's dinner time and Charles tells me that the food they serve down here is remarkably good. Would you do me the honor of letting me accompany you to dinner?"

Mary was momentarily too flustered to answer. Vincent gave her a little nudge and she finally accepted his offer. Vincent and Charles escorted Catherine to the dining chamber. Alan kept Mary thoroughly engrossed with his charming banter. Catherine, Vincent and Charles observed the interaction between Alan and Mary with some amusement. Vincent quietly reassured Catherine and Charles that Alan was quite sincere in his admiration of Mary.

~ x x x x x ~

**Spring 1985**

As Catherine walked through Central Park with her father she had stopped to watch the young street artist painting the couple posed beside the Romeo and Juliet statue. There was something downright erotic about the essentially 'G' rated image on the canvas. Catherine decided that it was in the eyes. The young couple was obviously in love but in the painting their eyes seemed to smolder with desire. It reminded her of the way Vincent would look at her when the passion rose up between them.

Charles followed his daughter's gaze. "Wow, that guy is really good. His style is very bold and quite unique." He noticed a smaller completed painting of a very sexy looking mermaid leaning against the bench beside the artist and a tiny easel holding a dozen or so hand made business cards beside it. After watching the young man painting for a few minutes Charles took one of the cards then spoke to his daughter as they walked away. "His name is Kristopher Gentian."

~ o ~

Catherine had thoroughly enjoyed her day in the park with her father and was in a good mood as they sat in her parlor sharing the day's events with Vincent. Catherine had enthusiastically described the young artist that she had seen. Charles was looking thoughtfully down at the card in his hand. Vincent had noticed the deeply thoughtful look on his face along with the soft _melancholy_ that was coloring his thoughts. Catherine had picked up on Vincent's interest in Charles and also noticed her father's preoccupation.

"What is it that has you so thoughtful?" Vincent asked him.

"Hu, what? Oh." Charles seemed to shake himself out of his reverie. "I was just wondering if this Kristopher Gentian will do a commissioned painting off of a photograph."

"Why is that?" Catherine inquired, curious about her father's mood.

"That painting he was doing was so reminiscent of one of my favorite pictures of Caroline and me. I would love to have it turned into a painting done in his unique style. The way he could put so much emotion into the eyes and faces of his subjects was amazing."

Vincent remarked. "You have his card. It couldn't hurt to ask."

~ x x x x x ~

Catherine glanced down at the folder labeled John Doe as she entered the interrogation room. According to the paperwork, the young black man, approximately sixteen or seventeen years old, had been picked up for trying to sell a small amount of drugs to an undercover cop. He had so little on him that they suspected that he was selling just enough drugs to support his own habit. She was supposed to try to get him to give up his drug source in exchange for a lesser charge. There had been a steady increase in the drug trade over the last two years and the 'powers that be' wanted something done about it.

At her first glance of the young occupant, she felt a sense of recognition. She looked closer and thinking that she must have met him somewhere before then it hit her. "Rolley?" She barely whispered the name. As she studied him she could barely recognize the boy prodigy in the wreck of a young man before her. She sat down across the table from him and asked if he wanted anything to eat or drink before they got started. His barely perceptible response was a non-committal shrug. Catherine brought him a certain type of soda that she remembered being his favorite.

After she sat down across the desk from him she quickly scanned through the case file again. He was listed as a John Doe # 118 because he had refused to give his name and his fingerprints had not produced a match. She addressed him by his name and he looked up in surprise at the use of his true name. Catherine began talking to him about the night he disappeared and Miss Kendrick was killed. After nearly an hour she managed to get the truth out of him about what happened that night. She also learned that his brother, Anthony, had killed her and was also his drug supplier. She told him that she would do what she could and that she would talk to him again soon. As she left the interrogation room, she remembered hearing eleven year old Rolley play the piano down in the tunnels and shed a tear for what might have been.

~ o ~

Joe and one of the police detectives named Henderson were waiting for her in the observation room. Joe saw her wipe away the tear and, choosing to ignore it, placed his hand on her shoulder. "That was excellent work, Radcliffe." Joe remarked enthusiastically. "Only you could have gotten that much useful information out of a drugged up street bum." He sighed with a shrug. "That information about the Andrea Kendrik murder may finally solve that case but that guy will be useless as a witness in court."

Detective Henderson responded to Joe's remark. "His testimony may not be useable in court but with the information you got from him, I think we can find enough other evidence to convict his brother of the murder as well as bring pressure on Anthony to give up his supplier." The detective smiled at her. "That was very good work Ms. Chandler."

"Thank-you Detective Henderson." She turned to Joe. "Joe is there anyway we can keep Rolley out of jail and put him into rehab instead?" There was almost a look of pleading in her eyes.

Joe thought a moment. The fact that she knew the young man's name and the look on her face when she had come into the room had him convinced that she must have known him at one time. "If we can get Anthony and put him away with the information from Rolley's testimony, I see no reason why we can't recommend probation and have him put in the state rehab program. The only proviso is that someone will have to accept responsibility for him."

"I think I can find someone that will take him in." She gave Joe a quick hug. "Thank-you Joe. I owe you one."

Catherine told Vincent about finding Rolley. Jacob and her father helped arrange for a helper couple to take responsibility for him. The next day Rolley's brother, Anthony, was arrested for the murder of Andrea Kendrick and Rolley was transferred to a state run juvenile drug rehab program.

Rolley's brother turned out to be a much tougher nut to crack but Catherine and Detective Henderson finally managed to get the name of Stephen Brinker, the next person up the supply chain, out of him in exchange for a lighter sentence.

~ x x x x x ~

Joe was grumbling as he passed Catherine's desk. Catherine glanced up at him. "What's up Joe?"

Joe paused seemingly startled by her question. "What, oh, ah. It's this Brinker case. He is being represented by one of the top criminal defense attorneys in the state. There is no way he could come close to paying for that guy. Someone's footing the bill for his lawyer."

Catherine thought for a moment. "Do you think we're getting close enough to the source to make them nervous?"

"It could very well be." Joe mused. "We must be making 'someone' nervous."

"It won't matter. Both cases are air tight." Catherine responded.

~ x x x x x ~

Joe was fuming as Catherine appeared at his office door. He looked up. "Come in Chandler."

The way he used her name was enough to tell her that something was very wrong. "Joe what is it? Did I do something wrong?"

"It's this damn Brinker case." He separated a folder from the mess on his desk. "The case is falling apart right before my eyes."

"But that makes no sense." She shook her head. "We had him cold."

Joe shook his head. "That's what I thought too." He looked up at her. "First, that high priced attorney throws Anthony under the buss and gets Brinker to clam up. Then the paperwork on both of these cases seems to be sprouting errors. Most of the errors are on your reports." Joe looked up at her in annoyance. "And for the final insult, a piece of crucial evidence seems to have disappeared." Joe smacked his fist against his desk where the case folder lay open. "That defense lawyer has pounced on these discrepancies like a shark in a feeding frenzy. It's almost like he was expecting them to pop up."

"I don't understand." Catherine shook her head in confusion. "I checked that paperwork myself. There were no errors."

"I believe you but see for yourself." Joe handed the folder to Catherine. "Some of those errors are pretty glaring."

Catherine looked at the papers in the folder then shook her head. "This is not right. There is no way I could have missed these kinds of mistakes. And I know that detective Henderson wouldn't make mistakes like that." Her face took on a puzzled look as she studied one of the reports from the folder. "Hold on a minute, Joe. These can't be right. This looks like my signature but this is not my writing. I would never word this in this way." She handed the report back to Joe. "Hold on a minute let me get my copies."

Catherine ran back to her desk and retrieved the folder that contained her copy of the case file. She and Joe compared the two folders. They were the same. Catherine picked up the pages of her personal notes. Her frown deepened as, puzzled, she looked through them. She looked up at Joe as a shiver went up her spine. "This looks like my writing but these aren't my notes." She pulled out one of the pages. "Henderson accidentally set a glass of ice water on this page when we were interrogating Andrew." She held it up to the light. "No ring."

Joe took both the official case file folder and Catherine's folder and stood up. "I'm going over to the police lab. If anybody asks, I'm taking a long lunch for personal business." He quickly left the office and Catherine returned to her desk.

~ o ~

A few hours later, Catherine was fuming as she read the report of Stephen Brinker being released on bond. Joe had gotten the bond set high enough that he shouldn't have been able to make it. She looked up to see Joe coming into the DA bullpen. She had never seen him look so disturbed. He glanced at her and indicated his office as he headed toward it. Catherine glanced around the bullpen then followed Joe into his office. He closed his door behind them.

"You look upset, Joe. What did you find out?" Joe looked up at her. She saw a combination of anger, frustration and a hint of hurt reflected in his eyes. "Joe?"

Joe finally spoke. "I had a friend in the police crime lab go over all of our paperwork and his findings suggest that the paperwork has been tampered with but it was very professionally done and hard to prove. They dusted each piece of paper for prints. Every set of prints they pulled was from people that would be expected to have handled it with two unusual exceptions. Half of the pages in your personal copy file don't have your fingerprints on them at all but they do have Moreno's fingerprints."

Catherine was very disturbed by this development. "There is no reason for Moreno to have been handling my files." She shook her head. "But I find it very difficult to believe that Moreno is involved in this."

Joe shook his head. "I find it hard to believe as well but, at this point, it looks like Moreno is sabotaging this case and setting you up to take the blame. The only other explanation I can think of is that Moreno is also being set up. Henderson is looking into it quietly. If it turns out that Moreno isn't involved then no harm done." Joe's eyes got cold as ice. "But if he is guilty then, I swear, I'll nail him to the wall."

~ x x x x x ~

Joe and Catherine were working very late on the big drug ring case. In the last three days, Detective Henderson hadn't been able to dig up any conclusive evidence against Moreno other than his fingerprints on her files and Stephen Brinker seemed to have disappeared after getting bailed out. Henderson did find out that something strange seemed to be going on with Moreno's parents in a rather exclusive retirement center. He was unable to get any details without making his investigation official and they were not yet ready for that. They were however pretty sure that Moreno was being influenced through his family. Detective Henderson had also dug up some other leads that indicated that the surge in the drug trade was tied to a relatively new and fast growing crime cartel. It was beginning to look like Moreno might lead them to the leadership of the cartel if they could get enough evidence on him to turn him. They were going over the data on Moreno's parents trying to find a link when her phone rang.

"District Attorney's office, Catherine Chandler speaking."

Vincent's voice responded. "Catherine, there is a problem. Someone is watching our home and I can sense definite malice. I think you should spend tonight below or else come home by way of the tunnels."

Catherine glanced over at Joe. "Maybe 'Below' would be best." She responded cautiously.

"I'm sensing caution, is someone there with you?" Vincent inquired.

"Joe is here with me. We're working on a case. I may be working very late, but I'll be home as soon as possible."

"OK I will meet you in our chamber below. Be careful Catherine." Vincent responded. "This situation worries me."

"I'll see you then. Bye." She hung up.

Joe had been watching her during the conversation. He knew that she was secretly married to someone and he was pretty sure the guy's name was Vincent. He often wondered why all the secrecy around the marriage but he had never been able to get anything out of her about it.

At that moment Moreno entered the main office grumbling to himself. He seemed totally unaware of Joe and Catherine sitting quietly in her corner of the bullpen. Moreno went into Joe's office then after a few minutes came out carrying a couple of folders and headed out of the office. Joe jumped up and started after him with Catherine close behind.

They stood just out of sight as Moreno stood waited for the elevator. Joe whispered to Catherine. "What do you think you're doing?"

Catherine whispered back. "Same thing as you. I'm following Moreno." She glanced around the corner to verify that he was still there. He was shifting from foot to foot impatiently. "He just took a couple of folders from your office and now he's in a hurry to leave. This could be our big break." They both glanced around the corner as the elevator bell sounded. As soon as the elevator doors closed Catherine spoke. "Come on." She and Joe both made a run for the stairs.

Catherine and Joe managed to reach the ground floor before the elevator and they took a position in a partially hidden corner of the lobby where they could unobtrusively watch the elevator doors. Joe spoke urgently to Catherine. "Maybe you should stay behind and call Henderson while I follow Moreno."

Catherine shook her head. "That wouldn't work. Once you leave here I wouldn't be able to tell him where you both went. Besides two pairs of eyes are better that one. I . . ." Her mouth snapped shut as the elevator signal rang.

Moreno exited the elevator and headed out of the building. Joe and Catherine were right behind him. Moreno headed for the nearest subway station. Joe and Catherine had to be extra cautious because there were so few people in the subway this late in the evening.

Moreno got onto the next train and they boarded two cars back. Joe took position with his back to Moreno and Catherine positioned herself so that she could look past Joe's shoulder and see Moreno through the connecting doors.

Catherine was commenting. "Moreno never takes the subway."

"This is damn suspicious." Joe responded. "He must be meeting someone."

A few stops later Moreno got off the train and they also exited. They took up position behind some pillars and watched. Catherine was aware that they were at the station closest to her home. As they watched Moreno in the nearly deserted subway station, they saw a white headed man approach him.

"Have you got the files we wanted?" The white-haired man asked

"Right here." Moreno held out the folders to him.

"Is that all of it?"

"It's everything Joe has on the case." Moreno assured him. "I'm going to have to lay low for a while. I think Joe may be suspicious."

"We know. You have been careless and you are becoming a liability." The white haired man pulled a gun with a long fat barrel.

"No! Don't!" Moreno begged.

There were three quick soft popping sounds and Moreno collapsed to the ground. Catherine let out a startled gasp and the white-haired man looked over in their direction. A ceramic tile on the wall near them exploded and showered them with fragments as she ducked back behind the pole.

Joe let out with a surprised and angry oath. "Damn, there's no way out."

Catherine glanced at the nearby open subway tunnel and grabbed Joes hand. "This way." Two more shots exploded on the tiles as she dragged Joe toward the open tunnel.

They jumped off the platform and ran into the tunnel beside the tracks as they heard the sound of someone running behind them. Catherine found what she was looking for about two hundred feet down the tunnel. She opened the hatch to the maintenance tunnel and drew a surprised Joe through the opening just as a bullet whined off the metal doorway. They ran a short way down the maintenance tunnel then Catherine yanked open a half rusted four foot high metal hatch and dived through pulling Joe through behind her. They were now in the old brick walled steam and utility tunnels. A loud shot rang out and a spot on the brick wall, five feet from them, exploded as she led them down another junction. Their pursuer had apparently removed his silencer in order to get more accuracy.

Catherine could feel Vincent's rapid approach. This area was honeycombed with criss-crossing tunnels of various types but they just couldn't get enough of a lead to lose the white-headed assassin that was chasing them. She had no doubt that Vincent would be able to stop the assassin but she hated to put him in the position of having to protect her. And what was she going to tell Joe? Two more shots rang out. One hit the wall just above her head. The other one drew a grunt from Joe.

Joe was surprised and a bit bemused. Cathy appeared to be quite familiar with these old tunnels which he found unusual considering her upper class background. He knew that her knowledge of these tunnels was the only thing that was keeping them alive so far but where was she leading them? Then two shots rang out and Joe felt his body jerked off balance as something hit him painfully on the right side. He stumbled but stayed on his feet.

Catherine looked back at Joe as he took a couple of awkward steps. At first he looked alright then after a second she saw a small red stain forming on his shirt under his right arm. "Keep going. I'm alright." Joe called between labored breaths. After another couple of turns Catherine stopped them. Joe leaned heavily against the wall as he was wondering 'what next?' He knew that the assassin was close behind them. Then a loud roar rang that sounded almost like a lion echoed through the tunnels. An instant later three shots rang out followed instantly by another roar. Joe glanced at Catherine to see a look of pain and extreme concern on her face.

Another shot rang out. A second later that lion's roar filled the tunnels followed by another shot and a man's bloodcurdling scream. The silence that now engulfed the tunnels was almost as deafening as the sounds of battle had been a few seconds earlier. The pain in Joe's side was getting worse as he again looked at Cathy. She was now looking back at him with uncertainty and concern showing in her eyes.

After about two quiet seconds her gaze shifted to a point down the tunnel. Joe turned to see where she was looking when a large apparition came around the corner. It was at least six and a half feet tall, appeared to be half lion and half human. It was obviously the source of the lion-like roars and, in the dim light of the tunnel, made a very frightening sight. Joe caught sight of the creature's claws as the sound of that creatures roars and the man's screams echoed through his mind.

While literally quaking in his shoes from fear, Joe stepped away from the wall placing himself between the creature and Cathy. "Cathy, get out of here. I'll try to slow it down."

_**Continued in Part 16**_

* * *

'**Beauty and the Beast'** and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures. No infringement on copyrights is intended. This story is presented merely for the enjoyment of fans. Original concepts and story elements may be used by other authors as long as appropriate credit is given.


	16. Perceptions

**The Road Not Taken****  
**(An Alternate Universe Story)_  
By Thomas Mc_

* * *

**Part 16 : Perceptions**

Joe planted himself before the large, powerful and very frightening looking lion-man creature, shaking from fear, exhaustion and blood loss. He just hoped that he could delay, whatever it was, long enough for Cathy to get away. Everything seemed to slip into slow motion while it sharpened into crystal clarity. The creature's hands were covered in golden fur and ended in long sharp, bloody, claws and the oddest thing was the gold wedding ring on the creature's finger. The cleft upper lip, flattened nose and very slightly extended muzzle along with the fur covering and the thick mane of darker gold hair gave the creature a very distinct leonine appearance. Two other details stood out to Joe; The small round hole in the creature's upper chest surrounded by a spreading red stain and the look of deep sadness in its remarkably human, impossibly blue eyes. Meanwhile the remembered sounds of enraged lion-like roaring, gunshots and a man's painful scream kept echoing over and over in Joe's mind like a broken record.

For about a second, which seemed to stretch into eternity, Joe stood facing the frightening creature. Wondering how long it would take it to kill him. Then he heard Cathy call out. "Vincent!" He had just enough time to wonder where her husband had come from before she rushed past him and practically threw herself into the creature's arms. The creature seemed dazed and took a moment before looking down at her. Joe noted that the creature held its hands away from Cathy's body as though afraid to touch her. Joe's head was beginning to spin as he began to feel his strength draining away.

Cathy pulled back slightly from the creature. "Vincent, you're hurt."

Joe shook his head. Had she just called that creature Vincent! Joe was feeling confused and dizzy. He fell back against the tunnel wall and slid down to the floor. He saw Cathy turn toward him and call out "Joe!" The next moment he saw the creature go down to his knees. Cathy turned back toward the creature and the last thing Joe heard through the darkening haze was Cathy's voice crying out. "Vincent! No!" Followed by a heavy thump.

~ x x x x x ~

The first thing Joe became aware of was lying flat on his back with a dull ache in his side and a rather annoying erratic clanking noise like metal striking metal. After a second he became aware of the murmur of voices in low conversation. He couldn't make out what was being said but there was a definite intensity to the voices.

Joe finally opened his eyes. He seemed to be in some type of rough hewn cave. He became aware that his shirt was gone and he was lying on a fairly hard bed, covered by a thick soft blanket. He checked the site of the dull ache and found bandages. He looked around at his surroundings. With the exception of the rock walls and a rather old looking hanging tapestry, it looked very much like a doctor's treatment room.

Just as Joe realized that he didn't see any doors, the tapestry was pulled aside and an older man stepped through into the chamber. The man was dressed in multiple layers of patched together clothing. He was using a rough cut homemade cane and walked with a slight limp. He was also carrying an old fashion black doctor's bag.

"Ah, you're awake I see." The man remarked as he set the bag down on the cabinet beside the bed and pulled out a stethoscope and a blood pressure cuff. "Now let's see how you are doing." He then proceeded to give Joe a fairly standard medical checkup. Lastly he removed the bandages, checked the stitching and applied fresh bandages. Despite his rather shabby looking clothing the man appeared to be a very competent doctor. "Well young man, we got the bullet out and you appear to be healing well." He took on a stern look. "Now you are to take it easy for the next week or so. Don't want you tearing those stitches." At that point they were interrupted by the sound of a subway train passing overhead.

Finally, Joe spoke. "Who are you?" He glanced around. "And where am I?"

The old man began putting his equipment back into his bag. "My name is Jacob and this is my . . . infirmary as it were." He closed his black bag. "Any further answers will have to wait for later." He turned to go.

Joe reached out and touched Jacob's arm and the old man turned back to face him. "Please, there was a young woman with me. Do you know what happened to her?"

Jacob looked at Joe a moment then answered. "Catherine is with Vincent."

At the mention of the name Vincent, Joe had flashed on the last image he had of Cathy and that creature. "Can I see her? Is she OK?" Normally Joe would have used his authority to demand what he wanted, but in this place, which appeared to be underground, he wasn't at all sure it would carry any weight.

Jacob looked him over for a moment. "I wouldn't recommend getting out of bed this soon. You could reopen that wound." He studied Joe for another moment. "I'm heading to Vincent's chamber next. I'll tell Catherine you're awake and asking for her." He turned, walked to the tapestry, pulled it aside and passed through the 'doorless' opening, letting the tapestry fall back into place after he passed.

A minute later, a young girl that appeared to be about fourteen entered the room. Her clothing had the same artfully patched together look as the doctor that had just left. "Father said that you needed a shirt and a sweater." She handed him the listed items. The sweater and shirt both appeared to be made of panels and patches that were sewn together in a rather pleasing arrangement. Joe had winced from the sharp pain in his side when he had taken the clothes. "Do you need help?"

Joe shook his head. "I think I can handle this."

The young girl continued to stare at Joe as the struggled to get the shirt on was making him feel a bit self-conscious. "You're Catherine's friend aren't you?" The young girl asked.

Joe stopped struggling with the shirt for a moment and looked at the girl. "You know Cathy Chandler?"

The girl nodded. "I've known her all my life. My name is Rebecca." She cocked her head. "Are you sure you don't need help with that shirt?"

"No I've got it." Despite the pain and stiffness he managed to get the shirt on. "Do you know Vincent?"

The young girl suddenly got a suspicious look on her face. "We don't talk about Vincent to strangers."

"I'm not a stranger." Joe insisted. "I'm a friend of Catherine's"

Rebecca thought it over a moment before responding. "Still, I should check with Catherine before I say anything about him." She hastily left the small chamber.

After a while Joe began to get restless and was debating with himself whether or not he should try to figure a way out of this place that he had found himself in, assuming he could even walk. The tapestry was pulled aside and Cathy entered the small chamber. The first thing Joe noticed was that Cathy was dressed much like the doctor and the girl had been dressed. There was something very soft and feminine about her clothing. Joe then noticed that Rebecca was standing just outside as Cathy hooked the tapestry to the side of the opening. "Rebecca, will you go ask William to fix up a lunch tray for Joe here?"

"OK." The girl responded and left.

Cathy turned back to Joe. "How are you doing, Joe?"

"I'm doing OK." Joe replied. "But what's the deal with that creature. You called it Vincent and I saw you hugging it." Joe's brow furrowed. "I always thought you were married to someone named Vincent."

Cathy sighed, pulled the chair over by his bed and sat down. She stared at Joe for a moment as though judging him in some way. "That's right, Joe." Her tone and attitude were almost defiant. "That . . . creature, as you called him, **is** my husband, Vincent."

Joe was totally speechless. He just couldn't think of a response. The idea of Cathy Chandler living, 'sleeping!', together with that creature was more than he could cope with at the moment.

Suddenly Cathy became very alert then upset. "Vincent!" She jumped up and ran out of the chamber.

Joe stared at the opening in stunned surprise. "What was that about?" He muttered under his breath.

A very short time later, Rebecca returned carrying a tray with a delicious smelling stew, a couple of slices of homemade bread and a mug of hot tea. "Where did Catherine go?" She asked him as she set the tray across his lap.

"She called out 'Vincent' and ran out of here." Joe responded. The smell of the food was irresistible and Joe's stomach rumbled in response as she set the tray across his lap.

Rebecca got a worried look on her face. "I hope he's OK." She commented softly.

Joe noticed her expression and her words. This young girl genuinely cared about that creature. At that moment a group of about a half dozen young children ranging in age from five to eight appeared at the entrance to the chamber. They were all wearing the same style of clothing as everyone else down here and they all looked worried. The oldest seemed to speak for the group. "Rebecca, is Vincent going to be OK?"

Rebecca smiled reassuringly at the children. "I heard Father tell Catherine that he thought Vincent was out of the woods and should recover completely." This seemed to reassure the children. "You children go on and don't worry about Vincent. I'm sure he will be back teaching classes in less than a week." The knot of children broke up and left.

Joe found himself trying to deal with a world that seemed to be turned inside out. "I find it so unusual to think of Vincent and Cathy, ah Catherine being married." Joe remarked, fishing for more information about that frightening creature that these children seemed to care so much about.

Rebecca looked back at him in surprise. "Are you kidding?" She shook her head. "Those two are so much in love . . . it was meant to be. It was all so romantic." There was a soft glow in the girl's eyes. "I wish I could find someone like Vincent." She sighed like a teenager over a rock-n-roll idol. "They have been linked together since they met as children."

"Linked?" Joe queried.

Her eyes shifted to look at him. "Yea, you know it must be so romantic being able to feel each other's emotions like that. To have a guy that always knows how you feel; that knows when you need him and is always there for you." The dreamy look was sufficient signal to Joe how serious she was despite the absurdity of what she was saying.

"Are there any others like Vincent down here?" Joe asked very curious about that.

"No, Vincent is the only one like him." She replied.

The doctor, Jacob, entered the small chamber followed by two men. He addressed Rebecca. "Thank you for looking after our guest. You may go."

Rebecca responded. "OK, Father. May I go help Jerry make some candles?"

Jacob smiled. "Yes, Rebecca you may help make candles as long as Jerry says you can." Smiling brightly she scooted out of the room. Jacob then turned his attention to Joe. "We're going to move you to a guest chamber where you will be more comfortable."

They loaded Joe onto a litter and left the small infirmary. As they carried him through the tunnel, Joe saw several small apartment-like chambers opening off both sides. Most of them appeared to be occupied. As they passed one of those side openings, Joe glanced in curiously and saw the creature lying in the bed. Cathy was sitting on the edge of the bed and tenderly caressing his face. The look of love on her face was almost blinding in its intensity. Then they were past the opening. About thirty feet further down the tunnel they entered another of those one room apartment chambers.

Jacob spoke as the two men helped Joe into the bed. "This chamber will be yours for as long as you are down here with us." He turned to an eight year old boy that had entered behind them. "Geoffrey is here to help you for the next two days. If you need anything just tell him. Jacob scowled at Joe as the two men left the room. "Now you are to stay in that bed at least until tomorrow. After that you should be able to get up and around with help. By the third day you should know the place well to be able to get around on your own."

~ o ~

Several hours later Joe was reading a book, that Geoffrey had brought him, when Catherine entered his chamber carrying a tray loaded with food. "Hello, Joe. I brought dinner." She set the tray on the nightstand beside his bed and pulled one of the two chairs over beside him. The tray contained two cups of soup, two cups of tea, and several cold cut sandwiches. Once she had settled in the chair and picked up one of the sandwiches, she continued. "I guess I owe you an explanation."

Joe picked up one of the sandwiches and nodded. "I certainly would appreciate one. Where did Vincent come from and are you really married to him and what is this I heard about you feeling each other's emotions?" Joe shrugged and waited for her to explain.

Cathy took a deep breath. "To begin with no one really knows where Vincent came from. He was found as a Newborn infant in the trash behind Saint Vincent Hospital. That's how he got his name and yes I really am married to him. Despite his appearance he is a wonderful, kind and gentle, **man** and we are very much in love with each other." Joe couldn't help noticing how she had emphasized the word man. Cathy paused as though in thought. "The bond Vincent and I have is not easy to explain. To begin with, Vincent is an empath." She paused at the confused look on Joe's face.

"I don't understand." Joe remarked.

Cathy continued. "An empath is someone that can directly feel the emotions of those around him." She held up her hand. "He cannot read your mind. He can only feel your emotions. The bond is like a permanent link between Vincent and me that allows us to feel the other's emotions as though they were our own all the time no matter how far apart we are."

"Doesn't that get . . . confusing?" Joe was very intrigued as well as very unsure about this.

"Not really. Most of the time, it's just barely there, like a radio that is turned way down, just background music. If I concentrate on Vincent then his emotions come in clearer, sort of like turning up the volume. Really strong emotions also come in a lot louder." She smiled softly. "The best part of the bond is that Vincent knows exactly how much I love him and I know how much he loves me. We can't avoid it." She chuckled. "It also means that we can't lie to each other."

As she paused Joe jumped in at this point. "Does this bond have anything to do with the way you called out his name and ran out of the infirmary this morning?"

Cathy looked at Joe a moment then responded. "Vincent has never killed someone before." She paused glancing down at her sandwich, sighed then looked back up at Joe. "You have no idea what it cost him to kill that man. When he killed that assassin, he felt that man die just as though it was happening to him. I caught a small bit of it through our bond." A deep sorrow crossed her face. She took a deep breath and continued. "It was horrible. It really hit Vincent hard. He's still unconscious but he's been reliving the moment in dreams and he starts thrashing around. When I hold him, my presence seems to make the bad dreams go away for a while."

"What are you going to do about Moreno and that assassin?" Joe asked as he glanced over at the boy Geoffrey that had been sitting in the corner listening to their conversation.

Catherine followed his glance. "Geoffrey will you go check on Vincent for me?"

Geoffrey got up from the chair. "Sure thing Catherine." He gave her a knowing grin and a salute then left.

"The scamp is very intelligent and mature for his age but still a bit young for this." Catherine paused then turned back to Joe. "I contacted my dad and he contacted Detective Henderson for me. I met Henderson at Daddy's place last night and told him most of what happened. We left him with the impression that a homeless veteran that I know took out the killer while he was chasing us. Two of the people that live down here, moved the killers body to the maintenance tunnel doorway where the police found him." She looked into Joe's eyes. "You've seen Vincent so you can understand why no one can know about his existence." There was a combination of entreaty and worry in her eyes. "If Vincent were ever caught by those above, they would throw him into a cage; turn him into an experimental subject. His life would become a living hell until they decided to take him apart to see what made him tick. That is if they didn't just kill him on sight."

Joe nodded. "I do understand, Cathy. I am nether a fool nor am I naïve. I can well imagine what might happen if the wrong people got a hold of Vincent." He cocked his head. "I understand that the killing of that assassin was justifiable both in defense of us, as well as a matter of self-defense, and any attempt at a fair trial for Vincent, if it was even allowed to happen, would be a total travesty. I see no real conflict in keeping his secret."

Catherine visibly relaxed at his words. "Thank-you, Joe, I really appreciate that."

"So, what about Henderson and the police?" Joe asked switching subjects for now. He would revisit the subject of Vincent at a later time.

"Detective Henderson has put together an exclusive task force of officers that he personally trusts to pursue this case, independent of the organized crime unit. They will be following up on the leads that you and I developed as well as investigating Moreno and that man that killed him." She paused, frowning down at the floor. "I have some other bad news though. Daddy came down here this morning to update me on what was happening. Someone broke into and vandalized my home and your apartment last night. Threatening messages were left at both places." She shook her head. "Around the same time several shots were fired at Detective Henderson's home. His little girl caught a bullet in the leg." She shook her head. "Henderson wants to get these guys as much or more than we do."

"What about Henderson's family?" Joe was very disturbed by these newest developments.

"Daddy told me that Henderson sent his whole family to live with some distant relatives in Colorado. They should be safe there. Daddy also told me that he has hired a private security company to keep an eye on your sister's family and on himself. There are several helpers that live in the city so we have several lines of communication between us and Detective Henderson." Catherine finally smiled. "By the way, Henderson also told my father that, 'if you and I have found a safe place to hide, stay there for the time being'." She glanced around at the rock walls and chuckled. "I guess you could say that we have. Those that know about this place are extremely loyal to this community."

They had finished their dinner and Catherine stood, picking up the tray. "You get a good night's sleep and maybe tomorrow I will introduce you to Vincent," A momentary cloud seemed to cross her face. ". . . if he's awake by then." The cloud passed. "He has wanted to meet you for a long time." She then left the chamber dropping the tapestry as she passed through the door.

For a long time he lay there wondering what she had meant by that 'if he's awake' remark. His ruminations were interrupted by the voice of Geoffrey, asking if it was OK to come in. Joe invited Geoffrey into his quarters as he had come to think of this subterranean chamber.

"Is there anything I can do for you?" His young guest inquired, looking at him a bit uncertainly.

"A little conversation would be appreciated." Joe replied. Geoffrey came over and sat in the chair Catherine had just vacated. After a moment Joe asked about Vincent. "Cathy said that Vincent was still unconscious."

Geoffrey frowned. "Vincent was badly hurt and lost a lot of blood. I overheard Father talking to Doctor Peter earlier and they are both very worried about him. The bullet passed through his lung and they are worried about the possibility of infection and pneumonia."

"I thought the doctor's name is Jacob." Joe remarked.

"That's Father." Geoffrey replied. "Doctor Peter is one of our helpers from 'Above'."

"Your father is the doctor?" Joe was confused

"I don't really have a father. Almost everyone down here calls him 'Father'. Doctor Peter calls him Jacob." Geoffrey explained.

"Why does everyone call him Father?" Joe was curious.

"He's been down here forever." Geoffrey replied with a shrug.

Joe managed to get Geoffrey talking about the tunnel community and the people that lived there. Geoffrey's knowledge was rather sketchy in some areas of the inhabitant's histories but Joe was able to glean enough background information on a few of the inhabitants to figure out that many of the people living here had been very badly mistreated by the world above. These people had found refuge, safety and healing in this subterranean world. He also learned that Jacob, more commonly referred to as Father, was the defacto leader down here, mostly because they all looked up to him and most of the inhabitants actually looked to him as a kind of father figure or patriarch. There was also a woman named Mary that most of them thought of as a mother figure. Eventually Joe drifted off to sleep.

~ x x x x x ~

When Joe woke up the next morning, he was momentarily disoriented by his strange surroundings. Then as memories of the last thirty-six hours came flooding back, his attention was drawn to movement to his left. It was Geoffrey turning up the lantern on the beat-up old dresser. The ache in Joe's side was feeling much better this morning and he was able to sit up on his own without a lot of pain. Geoffrey noticed his movement and faced him. "Good morning. How are you feeling today?"

"Um, I'm feeling much better this morning. Thank-you" Joe responded.

Geoffrey swept the room with his gaze as though checking that everything was in order. "Would you like me to bring you some breakfast?"

Joe adjusted his position. "I would appreciate that. Thank-you, ah, Geoffrey, Right?"

"That's right." Geoffrey gave him an impish grin. "I'll be back in a few minutes." Then he was gone.

Joe stared at the tapestry as it swayed gently for several seconds after Geoffrey had exited. He couldn't quite shake the unreal feeling this place created in him. He was amusing himself by trying to figure out which fairytale he had stumbled into when he heard the sound of someone clearing their throat. "May I come in Mister Maxwell?" The voice sounded like the doctor from yesterday.

"Uh, sure. Come on in." Joe responded.

The tapestry moved aside and the doctor entered carrying his black bag. "Good morning Mister Maxwell, how are you feeling this morning?"

"I'm doing much better, thank-you." Joe replied. "Uh, your name is Jacob?" Joe asked.

"Yes that is my name." Jacob opened his bag and began checking Joe over. After a quick general medical exam, Jacob removed the bandage on Joe's side and examined the wound. Then he put on new bandages. "Well mister Maxwell you are healing just fine. As long as you are careful, you can get up and move around on your own." He put his equipment away.

"Thank-you, Doctor." Joe paused. "Can you tell me how Vincent is doing?"

Jacob's already serious face fell just a bit. "Last night Vincent developed a high fever. Catherine is watching over him."

At that moment Geoffrey called from outside the chamber asking for entry. At Joe's invitation he entered carrying a tray with breakfast for two on it. Joe asked a question he had thought of asking Jacob. "Why didn't you just come in just now?"

Geoffrey looked at Joe, genuinely shocked. Jacob answered him. "It's because the tapestry was down. To us it is like a do not disturb sign on a locked hotel room door."

"I would never enter someone's chamber without permission if the tapestry is over the doorway. No one down here would." Geoffrey responded.

"If the tapestry is hooked back, it means visitors are welcome." Jacob pulled it back. "Do you want it back or down?"

"I guess back." Joe remarked with a shrug. Jacob slipped it over the hook in the wall and exited the chamber.

_**Continued in Part 17**_

* * *

'**Beauty and the Beast'** and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures. No infringement on copyrights is intended. This story is presented merely for the enjoyment of fans. Original concepts and story elements may be used by other authors as long as appropriate credit is given.


	17. Crusaders

**The Road Not Taken****  
**(An Alternate Universe Story)_  
By Thomas Mc_

* * *

**Part 17 : Crusaders**

Joe and Geoffrey were enjoying an unusual breakfast of lettuce, beans, scrambled eggs and cheese. Joe had never had anything like it before but it was delicious. It quickly became obvious to Joe as they talked that Geoffrey was very worried about Vincent. Just as they were finishing up their breakfast, two older women stepped into Joe's chamber to meet him. They introduced themselves as Mary and Margaret. They appeared to be close friends and were able to tell Joe a little about Jacob's background. Joe noticed the respect that Geoffrey accorded both of them and figured that this was the Mary that he had heard about earlier. Though it was never made explicitly clear, Joe got the impression that Margaret was Jacob's wife.

After Mary and Margaret left, Joe decided he wanted to check on Cathy so Geoffrey led him to Catherine and Vincent's chamber. When they arrived the tapestry was hooked back so they stepped inside. The first thing Joe noticed was Vincent laid-out on the large bed under the yellow half circle stained glass window. Cathy was sitting on the side of the bed looking down on Vincent and holding his hand. She looked up at Joe and he couldn't help noticing how tired she looked.

"Morning Joe." She gave him a half smile. "I'm glad to see that you're up and about."

"How is he?" Joe asked as he and Geoffrey approached the bed.

At that moment Jacob entered the chamber, dropping the tapestry across the opening. "I got your message Catherine. You said he had improved?"

Cathy looked up at the doctor. "I think his fever finally broke about a half-hour ago." She looked at him hopefully.

Jacob glanced at Joe as he approached the bed. Joe looked down at Cathy. "Should I go?"

Cathy looked up at Joe. "No, Joe, please stay."

Jacob nodded to Joe and began looking Vincent over. Cathy had stood up to give the doctor more room and Joe moved over to stand beside her. Joe thought that Vincent looked a lot less frightening laying there, despite the sharp claws and, to his surprise, the fangs he saw in Vincent's half-open mouth. Fangs? When the doctor removed the bandage Joe realized that Vincent's injury had been a lot worse than he had originally thought. He also noticed the thickness of Vincent's fur on his chest and shoulders. The more Joe saw of him the more he thought that Vincent really was half lion.

Once Jacob had replaced the dressing, he stood up and faced Cathy. His expression was much more relaxed. "The swelling around the wound has gone down and his fever has definitely dropped. It looks like he has fought off the infection and is on the mend." Cathy hugged Jacob then sat back down on the edge of the bed. Jacob placed his hand on her shoulder. "You know how tough he is Catherine; he's going to be just fine."

Joe thought that she looked a lot happier and more relaxed as she grabbed Vincent's clawed hand. "Thank-you, Father."

Jacob exited the chamber. Joe noticed that Geoffrey looked at Vincent, a combination of hope and worry in his face.

Catherine looked up at Joe. "I got a message from dad this morning. He will be meeting us down here for lunch."

"I hope he has some news for us." Joe remarked. He looked back at Vincent as a bit of uncertainty crept in. "He sure has been unconscious for a long time. Is he sedated?"

Cathy responded. "I've seen this happen once before. Peter and Jacob think it's the way he heals. Peter said that his body partially shuts down so that more of his energy can be assigned to dealing with an injury or serious infection."

"I see. I guess that makes sense." Joe frowned. "So exactly how did you meet this Vincent?" Joe asked.

Geoffrey sat on the low table beside the bed and listened enthralled by a story he had heard before as Catherine began telling Joe the story of how she met Vincent. Joe was soon equally caught up in the tale she was spinning.

~ o ~

Catherine was telling Joe about when she first went off to college, when she stopped short and appeared to be listening to something. Joe had already learned about the meaning of the constant tapping noise and suspected that there was something about the current message that she was interested in. After a few seconds, she shifted her attention back to Joe and Geoffrey. "That was about my dad. He is below and headed for the dining chamber. We are supposed to meet him there."

"What about Vincent?" Joe asked as he glanced down at the subject of his question.

"I'll watch over him." Geoffrey offered.

Catherine looked at him a moment then spoke. "OK, Geoffrey. You know what to do if he gets restless."

"I know." Geoffrey nodded his head. "If he starts thrashing around, back off and wait for you."

With a gentle caress on Vincent's brow, Catherine stood up. "Come on Joe. I'll show you the way to the dining chamber." She led Joe out of the apartment chamber, dropping the tapestry across the doorway as they exited. "It's just down this way." After twenty feet, she pointed to an opening on the left. "That is Father's library chamber. If you get too bored, you can usually find a good book to read in there." Another fifty feet and they passed through a doorway to the right.

The dining chamber reminded Joe a lot of his old high-school cafeteria. The tables were miss-matched, the food was set out in a buffet at the back and the ceiling was solid rock but the illusion still held. After they got their food from the buffet they looked for a seat and spotted Jacob waving them over. Margaret was seated next to Jacob and Mary was seated across from Margaret. Catherine sat next to Jacob and Joe sat next to Catherine. The closeness between Jacob and Margaret was obvious to Joe which strengthened his assumption that they were married.

Cathy perked up and looked over Joe's shoulder. Joe followed her gaze and saw her father and another man, both dressed in standard business suits that effectively set them apart from the rest of the people in the chamber. Both men glanced over and nodded acknowledging Cathy's gesture then headed to the buffet at the back of the chamber. The other man sat down next to Mary and received a smiling kiss as welcome from her. Cathy's father sat down across from Catherine.

Charles spoke first, indicating the man seated between him and Mary. "Joe, this is Alan Taft. He represents Margaret's interests and is also a friend of Jacob's." Charles swept the table with his gaze before continuing. "I have some news about the case." His gaze settled on Joe. "Joe, I'm afraid that they went after your sister's family." Joe gasped. "Fortunately the guards from the security agency stopped the attack. I moved your sister and her family out to our lake house to keep them safe." He fished in his pocket and pulled out an envelope. "She sent you a letter and, if you wish, I can bring her a letter or message from you to let her know that you are all right. Though I assured her that you were OK, I know that she would appreciate some kind of message from you."

Joe glanced over at Alan Taft, who had been quietly listening. "What about the investigation?"

Charles continued. "Alan has some very good accountants tracing the source of the funds that were paying for Moreno's parents. Henderson is running two teams. One is following up on the Moreno shooting and the other is following up on the original investigations." He paused a moment to think. "Detective Henderson wanted to meet with the both of you this evening to discuss the case. I told him to be at Kelly's Deli at ten. Since there is a tunnel access there, you should be safe."

"Have there been any useful developments yet?" Joe asked.

"One promising element is a ring that they found on the assassin. It is very unique and Henderson hopes that it will lead them to the identity of the assassin." Charles shrugged. "That's all I have right now." He looked over at Jacob. "How is Vincent doing?"

"He's doing much better now." Jacob replied.

~ o ~

Michael and Matti Kelly were pure Irish, right down to the distinctive brogue. Their son Ryan often helped them in the evenings. Their customers often found it very humorous that they should be running a standard issue kosher deli in mid town Manhattan. They had both also been 'helpers' for several years and had a direct link to the tunnels in their basement. Detective Henderson walked into the deli and did a quick look around. There was a couple of other people present munching on their sandwiches. Henderson took a relatively isolated booth in the corner and sat with his back to the wall. A few minutes later Cathy Chandler and Joe Maxwell came out of the kitchen door and sat down in the booth across from him.

"It's good to see the both of you alive and safe." Henderson remarked as they sat down. "The more we find out about that assassin, he goes by the name of Snow, the more deadly he appears to have been. Word is that once he was sent after you he keeps after you with machine like determination until you're dead. We found a piece of paper in his pocket with four names on it including Catherine Chandler, Joseph Maxwell and John Moreno."

Joe remarked. "I guess we're very lucky to be alive then." He cocked his head. "You said there were four names on that list. Could that possibly be a lead?"

Henderson shrugged. "The fourth name is Sarah Connors, a waitress in a diner in the Bronx. She is still alive so I guess he hadn't gotten around to her yet. We're looking into it but we can find no connection to the rest of this mess." He grinned at this point as he leaned forward. "We may have caught a break with the ring that Snow was wearing. It turns out that it is very unique. Only two like it are supposed to exist. The rumor is that the two rings belong to brothers. If we can track that second ring down it may get us much closer to the top of the organization."

"At least we have some promising leads." Catherine remarked. "What about Joe and I?"

Henderson shook his head. "Word on the street is that there is a high price on both your heads. Someone really wants you two bad." He looked at each of them. "The word of the large bounty went out shortly after word of Snow's death leaked out. Our police department is full of holes." Henderson shrugged. "For now, it is best if you stay out of sight. I'm also having to keep a low profile lately. This gang we're after has a long reach." Joe and Henderson both noticed that Cathy seemed to be just a bit distracted as she looked at Henderson. "Are you alright Miss Chandler?" Henderson inquired of her. "It can be very upsetting to know that people are after you."

"Yes it is a bit disturbing but I'll be just fine." She smiled at them both. "No need to worry about me." She glanced over at Joe. "I just want to take these bastards down so Joe and I can get back to our lives."

Ryan Kelly came up to their both and refilled their water glassed then spoke in a low voice. "That guy by the front window in the dark gray suit has been paying an awful lot of attention to this booth."

Henderson barely glanced toward that direction. "You two had better get out of here. I'll try to delay him while you get away."

Ryan spoke up. "If you wait a couple of minutes 'til my dad can distract him you will have more time to get out of sight." He turned to Detective Henderson. "But what about you? How will you get out of here after they leave?"

Henderson smiled back at them. "I have Officer Johnson watching from across the street. As soon as any one of us stands up, he is supposed to cross the street and enter the deli. His job is to watch my back and run interference if necessary."

Ryan walked away. About a minute later Michael approached the man in the dark grey suit and, standing directly between him and Catherine's table, began asking him how he liked the food here. Catherine and Joe got up and moved quickly to the doorway into the back. The man belatedly jumped up and after a small bit of difficulty getting around Michael, moved to follow the couple Cathy and Joe who had were just disappearing into the back room. Henderson stood up and stepped right into the man's path slowing him down even further just as Officer Johnson entered the deli. The man was stepping around Henderson when Matti appeared out of nowhere running into Henderson and knocking him into the other man. The man tried to shove his way past them both apparently knocking Matti down.

Matti squawked as she hit the floor and Officer Johnson stepped up. "Alright, what exactly is going on here?"

While Matti complained about the man's rude behavior, further detaining him, Henderson managed to slip out the front door and left the area with the second police officer that just happened to be out there waiting for his boss. As they walled up the street Henderson couldn't help chuckling at how fortunately all the factors had conspired to allow all three of them to get out of there without any problems. The officer that was escorting him informed him that there had been two other men watching the deli but he and Officer Johnson had chased them off.

~ o ~

As Charles prepared to leave the office the security guard assigned to him reported that two men had been spotted hanging around the building. Charles headed straight home. He pushed the elevator button for his floor then got off on the second floor and took the stairs to the basement. Soon he was on his way to the tunnel community hub. On the way he ran into Alan Taft who was on his way to see Mary. They both met up with Joe and Cathy just as they were approaching the library chamber. After a quick exchange of greetings, Charles headed to the dining chamber, Alan went looking for Mary and Joe and Cathy headed for her and Vincent's chamber.

As they entered the chamber they found Vincent awake. Jacob and Margaret were in there talking to him. Joe noticed that Cathy was not surprised to find Vincent up. "You already knew?"

Cathy collected a quick kiss from Vincent before responding. "Of course I knew. He woke up while we were talking to Henderson."

Joe was momentarily surprised by her action. He was still trying to get used to the idea of Cathy and Vincent as a couple but that quick kiss had driven the point home much more effectively than all the words he had heard about it over the last two days. "You knew because of that bond you were talking about?" Joe inquired.

Cathy nodded. "That's correct." She sat down on the edge of the bed and put her arm across Vincent's shoulder. "I'm always aware of Vincent's state of mind just as he is always aware of my feelings." She switched her attention to Jacob and Margaret. "I assume by Vincent's feelings and by the looks on both your faces that Vincent is doing well."

"He is healing quickly and will probably be up and around by tomorrow morning." Jacob responded. "I think Margaret and I will take our leave now." They headed for the doorway.

After they left Catherine turned to Vincent. "Vincent, I would like to introduce you to Joe Maxwell, my boss at the DA office and a good friend." She turned to Joe. "Joe, I would like you to meet my husband, Vincent Wells; adopted son of Jacob Wells."

"Pleased to meet you." Vincent spoke as he held out his hand.

Joe was momentarily overawed by the masculine power the seemed to infuse his gentle quiet voice. "Same here." Joe responded as, after a moment's hesitation, he gripped that clawed hand. For several seconds the silence was broken only by the sound of messages running along the pipes as both of them were insure what to say next. Vincent could clearly feel Catherine's amusement at their awkwardness.

"Very good." Catherine remarked as she stood up. "You two boys get to know each other. I need to go speak to Geoffrey." She headed out of the chamber, her eyes sparkling with amusement.

Vincent finally broke the ice by asking Joe how the current case was going. A couple of hours later Catherine returned to find Vincent and Joe deep in conversation and laughing. She grinned at them and took a seat across the chamber from them. Apparently they had been exchanging stories about her.

Vincent glanced over at Catherine. "Did you set the Central Park Irregulars into action?"

"The what?" Joe looked from Vincent to Cathy in confusion.

Catherine chuckled. "Geoffrey and his friends sometimes help me by keeping an eye on witnesses or suspects. They also can sometimes ferret out where people are hiding."

"I get it, as with the Baker Street Irregulars." Joe's eyes sparkled with his amusement at discovering another of Cathy's secrets. "So that is how you were able to miraculously locate those obscure witnesses."

Cathy chuckled and shrugged. "That's part of it. I find that Gregory and his cohorts can be very helpful at times and giving them something useful to do with their time helps keep them out of trouble." She nodded towards the surface. "I just added that woman, Sarah Connors, from Snow's list to those I wanted watched."

Joe had noticed Cathy occasionally glancing lovingly at Vincent and decided that they probably would like a little time together alone. He stretched and yawned. "Well it's getting late and I need to see if I can find my way back to my, ah, chamber before I become too tired to remember where I am." He moved toward the doorway. "I'll see you two tomorrow morning. Goodnight."

"Goodnight Joe." Cathy responded as Joe stepped through the doorway and dropped the tapestry across it. She smiled to herself. "Poor Joe, he still has difficulty picturing us as couple but he tries to be accepting for my sake."

"He has accepted my unusual appearance readily enough but his feelings are very ambivalent when it comes to the idea of us as a couple." Vincent caressed Catherine's cheek. "You do realize that he still carries a bit of a torch for you but he keeps it buried under a shield of brotherly affection for you." He looked into her eyes. "And I sense that you feel a great deal of affection for him."

Catherine nodded. "It's true, I have been aware of his feelings for me and, in truth, I love him like a brother . . ." She smiled at Vincent as she gently touched his beloved fuzzy face. "But my heart belongs only to you." She sighed. "Joe is a wonderful person and I really hope that he finds a woman that is worthy of him some day." Then she and Vincent kissed.

~ o ~

As Joe made his way toward his 'chamber', he was finally getting used to using that term for a room, his mind kept wandering back to the image of petite beautiful Cathy and that massive dangerous creature, Vincent, kissing. He found the whole concept slightly disturbing, especially when he thought of sex being thrown into the mix. Something inside him wanted to cry out that that just wasn't right . . . and yet he wasn't blind to the overpowering love that seemed to flow between those two, even within that overtly chaste kiss. How could something as beautiful as that be wrong?

Joe dropped the tapestry across his door. Despite the seeming impossibility of it all, Joe couldn't help but admit that Vincent and Cathy belonged together. Each seemed to be the other's perfect mate. As he plopped down on his bed he wondered if he would ever find such a perfect mate of his own.

As he drifted off to sleep something Vincent had said to him floated to the front of his mind. It sounded so much like the Cathy he had come to know. "Catherine did something no one else could have done." Vincent had told him. "She taught me not just to accept my uniqueness, but to be proud of what I am." Vincent did remind him of a proud and noble lion.

~ x x x x x ~

Catherine woke up still snuggled deep in Vincent's embrace. Spending last night with a conscious and healing Vincent had been very nice and she was still wallowing in the afterglow. Then she felt Vincent nibbling at her ear. "Good morning, my beloved." He spoke in that magical voice of his.

"Mornin." She responded as she tried to chase the remnants of sleep from her brain. "I still love waking up in your arms . . ." She twisted around in his arms to face him. ". . . my beautiful lion." They kissed.

~ o ~

Joe awoke from an unpleasant dream that revolved around himself, Catherine and Vincent. He had forced Vincent into a courtroom. While Vincent was sitting up on the stand defending his actions to protect them, six men in dark suits and sunglasses barged in and dragged Vincent off while spouting some nonsense about 'National Security'. Joe glanced over to see Cathy turning an accusing look at him then falling into despair as she turned her gaze toward Vincent and the six men dragging him away.

Joe shook himself as he tried to reassure himself that it had only been a dream. He became aware of the rock walls surrounding him as reality crept back into his consciousness. He shook his head as he sat up and mumbled to himself. "I swear I will never do that to either of you. Especially when Vincent is so obviously innocent of any wrong doing." He had always staunchly believed in the right to defend yourself and the ones you care about. It was the one area where he and Moreno had always disagreed. Moreno had insisted that the court should determine innocence. Joe felt it was wrong to put someone through all of that just for doing the right thing.

~ o ~

Joe entered the dining chamber and was immediately drawn to the musical sound of Cathy's laughter. He glanced over and recognized the six people seated together. Vincent, Cathy, Jacob, Margaret, Alan and Mary were seated together talking and laughing. He grabbed some breakfast from the Buffet in the back and joined them. Cathy was relating stories of some of the more ridiculous things that she had seen in the courtroom. Alan looking so out of place in his lawyer's business suit.

As Joe sat down with that group, Alan glanced at his watch, stood up and kissed Mary on the cheek. "Gotta run. I have just enough time left to get to the office." He nodded to Joe. "I'll be seeing you around dinner time. Hopefully by then I will have some news for you from my accountants."

Minutes after Joe sat down, Geoffrey came up and reported on the events that his friends had witnessed from last night. It turned out that an attempt on the Connors woman was foiled by the actions of the security people and the police. Two of the assailants were killed in a brutally short gun battle, one of them was captured and the fourth one escaped. The one that escaped was followed by two of the kids back to a midtown Manhattan building.

After Breakfast Catherine sent a message to Henderson about where the escaped assailant had been followed to, then she and Vincent spent the next several hours showing Joe some of the more spectacular sites of the subterranean world.

~ o ~

Around five in the afternoon Cathy and Joe headed to the surface for a meeting with Henderson. This meeting was staged in the apartment building owned by Charles Chandler. Alan met them below and the three of them arrived through the tunnel access at her father's apartment. Charles was going to be out with his law firm partners that evening so they would have it to themselves. Ten minutes after they arrived, there was a knock at the door.

Cathy glanced through the peephole then turned back looking puzzled. "There's some one at the door that I don't know but there is something oddly familiar about him." While Joe and Alan stood just out of sight Cathy opened the door. "Yes?"

The man looked at her slightly puzzled. "I'm supposed to meet Maxwell and Henderson here." He cocked his head. "You're Cathy Chandler aren't you?"

Henderson stepped out of the elevator at that moment and rapidly closed the distance to Catherine's door. "Patrick you made it. Good." Both of them entered the apartment. Catherine looked on in confusion as she closed the door.

"Patrick?" Joe inquired as he caught sight of the new man. "What in the world are you doing here?"

Henderson was the one that answered. "Patrick is with the New York State Organized Crime Task Force and has been working deep undercover in the Geonelly gang for nearly a year." Henderson shook his head and placed his hand on Patrick's shoulder. "When my group began investigating the Geonelly gang, we started running complete background checks on every member we were able to identify, looking for links to the other aspects of this case. That's when we stumbled onto Patrick. I talked to his supervisor in the state police and got permission to bring him into this little shindig."

There was a staccato knock at the door and Cathy went over and immediately opened it without checking first. "Come in Geoffrey." She closed the door behind him. Henderson and Patrick both looked at the young strangely dressed boy in surprise then Cathy introduced him. "Everyone, this is a friend of mine, Geoffrey. He and some of his friends have been keeping an eye on several of the principals in this affair for me. Now that every . . ." The doorbell rang interrupting her and Cathy approached her door wondering who else was going to show up. Through the peephole she saw a young woman and a police officer. With a shake of her head and a shrug she opened the door. "Can I help you?"

"We're here to see Detective Henderson." Replied the officer as he looked at her curiously. "I was instructed to come to this address and to bring Sarah with me."

Detective Henderson moved out of concealment and stepped up behind Cathy. "Officer Reese, Miss Connors, please come in." Once the door was closed and the rest of the occupants were in the open Henderson spoke to the others in the apartment. "This is Officer Kyle Reese and Sarah Connors. They were recently engaged." Cathy directed everyone to the sofa group in the center of the apartment's parlor as Henderson resumed speaking. "Now that everyone is here let's begin."

_**Continued in Part 18**_

* * *

'**Beauty and the Beast'** and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures. No infringement on copyrights is intended. This story is presented merely for the enjoyment of fans. Original concepts and story elements may be used by other authors as long as appropriate credit is given.


	18. Takedown

**The Road Not Taken****  
**(An Alternate Universe Story)_  
By Thomas Mc_

* * *

**Part 18 : Takedown**

As Catherine directed everyone to the sofa group, she couldn't take her eyes off of Sarah Connors. Everybody else kept glancing back and forth between Sarah and Catherine. Sarah looked so much like Catherine that she could have passed for her twin sister.

After everyone had taken a seat Henderson spoke up. "What I am most curious about is, why Sarah has been targeted."

Sarah and Kyle looked at each other confused. Then Sarah shrugged. "I don't understand. I'm a waitress. Maybe they confused me with Miss Chandler." She looked at Catherine in open wonder.

Catherine spoke up. "I could almost believe that, if it weren't for the fact that 'your' name was on the same list that mine and Joe's names were on. There has to be some other reason why you were specifically listed. Moreno was targeted because he could expose whoever was in charge. Joe and I were targeted because we were on to Moreno. The only logical explanation is that you posed a danger to the head man as well."

"What about your previous job? You were always complaining about that place." Kyle remarked.

"What about that, Miss Connors?" Henderson asked. "Was there something odd about it?"

Sarah thought a moment then started speaking. "I used to work in the copy center of this construction company in Upper Manhattan. It was called G&S Construction." She rattled off an address. "The company took up the entire floor but I swear I rarely saw any signs of real work going on there. Mostly I made copies of other people's plans and ledgers with very cryptic entries. There were offices for all the company's officers but I never saw anybody in them. The guy in charge was this really creepy guy named Gabriel. I only saw him twice while I was there, and that was more than enough for me."

Geoffrey jumped in at this point. "That's the address that my friends followed that gunman to."

Henderson responded. "Are you talking about the one that escaped our trap last night?" Geoffrey nodded. Henderson addressed Sarah. "So this has to be related to your previous job. Maybe you saw something or know something."

Sarah looked very disturbed by this revelation. "But I don't know anything. Nothing ever seemed to happen there. I left that job because the owner creeped me out. His eyes were so cold, so empty and his brother was worse."

"His Bother?" Catherine asked.

Sara shivered. "Yea, I saw him several times going in and out of the rooms that Gabriel used as his office. That guy was just plain scary." She shivered again and Kyle put his arms around her. "He had pure white hair and cold malevolent eyes. Gabriel didn't really care about what happened to others. I think his brother would as soon kill you as look at you."

"Sounds a bit like Snow." Joe remarked.

"That's what they called him." Sarah remarked in surprise.

"That makes sense and it explains why you were targeted." Henderson remarked. "When we tried to trace the other ring the name Gabriel came up but we were unable to identify him or find out where he was located."

Patrick spoke up at this point. "While I was with the Geonelly gang I was a courier so I interacted with a lot of people. I heard the name Snow mentioned several times. They were all afraid of him. I only heard the name Gabriel mentioned once. No one knew who he was but it was obvious to me that he was the person at the top and Snow was his enforcer."

Alan spoke up at that point to report that his accountants had finally traced the funds that paid for Moreno's parents through to a shell company that listed some of the Geonelly family as the board of directors. That company in turn was just a front for the Geonelly gang and is in turn controlled by Gabriel's construction company. Unfortunately we could find no direct connection between G&S Company and Gabriel." He shrugged. "All we have are Sarah's reports of his physical presence to go on. Half the company's executives turned out to be just names on a piece of paper, and the rest turned out to be names in a graveyard." Alan shook his head. "To all intents there is no one in charge of that company."

Sarah spoke up. "There may be no actual person on paper but there is no doubt that Gabriel calls all the shots."

Henderson addressed the group. "Alright. What we have here is sufficient evidence to warrant an assault on the G&S offices but not enough info to get a warrant for this Gabriel character." He thought a while. "Sarah, I need a sighed affidavit detailing everything that you told us about G&S and you're time there. Alan I need copies of your accountants findings. Patrick, I will also need copies of your reports. Meanwhile my group will try to find out as much as we can about this Gabriel between now and tomorrow night. Hopefully we will dig up enough information to file for a warrant."

Joe spoke at this point. "I might be able to help with the warrants if I can get to the judge safely."

"That won't be easy." Henderson responded. "There is a large contract out there for both of you and we have already identified several people that are looking to collect on that contract, but we can't be sure that we have identified all of them."

Catherine stepped in. "Don't worry about that. I can get Joe to wherever he needs to be no matter how many people are on the lookout. Just tell my father where and when. Joe will be there."

Joe looked at her in surprise then his eyes widened as the implications of what she had said got through to him. The extent of that underground network that hid the tunnel community must be far greater than he had originally guessed if she thought she could get him anywhere in the city undetected.

Henderson noticed the exchanged looks between Catherine and Joe. He wondered if it might have something to do with the way they had managed to disappear after the original attack. A large crime organization and the entire city police department were looking for those two, easily recognizable, people yet it was as though the earth had simply swallowed them up. Then seemingly out of thin air, they both show up at a specific time and place looking relatively unscathed. He would give a year's pay to know how she had done it.

While Sarah and Kyle worked on her written statement with Joe and Catherine's help, the rest filtered out from the apartment one by one. After a couple of hours Sarah was satisfied with her statement and gave the final draft to Henderson. At about the same time the strangely dressed kid returned to deliver the accountants' reports from Alan Taft. Kyle and Sarah left followed by Henderson.

As Detective Henderson crossed the street to where one of his men waited, he glanced up to see that the lights were already out in the apartment. Then he addressed the officer. "Anything unusual happen while I was in there?"

"No sir." Officer Johnson replied. "It has been very . . . boring out here."

Henderson turned to face the building. "Very well. You can call the station and tell them they can release those two men we caught loitering earlier today." He glanced over at Officer Johnson. "By the way, how did that strangely dressed kid get past the front desk?"

Officer Johnson glanced at Henderson in surprise. "What kid, sir?"

Now Henderson was surprised. "Sandy haired kid, around seven or eight, about so tall." He indicated height with his hand. "Dressed in multiple patched together layers. You couldn't have missed him."

"There was no kid, sir. If any kid like you described had entered that building, one of us would have seen him and reported it." From the sound of his voice it was obvious that Johnson was very disturbed that someone that unusual had gotten past him and his two men without being seen.

At that point it occurred to Henderson that he hadn't seen Joe or Catherine exit the building and he knew that they were still in the apartment when he had stepped onto the elevator. There were only two ways in or out of that building and they were both well covered by the three officers he had left on watch. He then began questioning Johnson on who he had seen entering and leaving the building over the last four hours.

It soon became apparent that Catherine, Joe, Alan and that kid Geoffrey had all managed to slip in and out of that building without anyone seeing them. Henderson glanced up, irrationally looking for someone leaping from rooftop to rooftop, then shook himself as he dropped his eyes. "How did she do that?" He mumbled.

"Pardon, sir?" Johnson inquired glancing over at the detective.

"Nothing, Officer. Just mumbling to myself." Henderson replied.

"If I may say so. In the few years Miss Chandler has worked at the D.A. office, she had gotten quite a reputation for being able to pull off the impossible. My understanding is that it was her handiwork that led to this investigation in the first place." Johnson shrugged. "Many of us have developed a healthy respect for her ability."

~ x x x x x ~

Joe rolled out of bed and began preparing for the new day. The suit he had been wearing when he had come down here had become so dirty and wrinkled that he finally gave in and set it aside for when he could figure out how to send it to the cleaners, then he put on the tunnel clothing that the people of the community had given him. He had a few moments of difficulty with some of the more unusual improvised fastenings but he finally got it all together. He was surprised at how warm and comfortable it felt. He glanced at himself in the mirror and ran his fingers through his unruly hair to little effect. There was something almost dashing to the medieval look of it all. He shrugged and made his way to the dining chamber.

When he arrived the place was nearly empty and William was just putting the food out on the back buffet. There were several stacks of many different types of pancakes and the smell of the, still very warm, food made his mouth water. He made his selection and found a seat at one of the mostly empty tables. Last night's brainstorming session had left him with a lot to think about. Meanwhile the tunnel people slowly began to trickle in.

Joe became aware of three women in animated discussion as they sat down at the table behind him. Glancing over his shoulder he recognized Margaret and Mary. The third and oldest woman was one that he had not met. They didn't seem to have noticed him.

Mary was speaking. "Agatha, you remember how it was. Catherine was always defending Vincent against Mitch's verbal taunts."

The woman Joe now knew was named Agatha, responded. "Despite the way that boy treated Vincent, it was Vincent that tried hardest of all of us to help Mitch," She paused to shrug. "But even Vincent finally admitted that there was a deep core of rage in that boy that no one could reach."

Mary continued speaking. "I remember how bad we felt when Catherine brought word to us about what he had done."

Agatha jumped in. "We all felt responsible. His father brought him to us hoping we could help him break free of the influence of the hoodlums he had been running with." There was a pause with a sigh. "We failed." There was a deep sadness in her voice as she spoke those last two words.

Mary took over. "When we heard about what Mitch did, we had no choice but to banish him from our community but it was already too late for that policeman that he killed. We all felt so bad for that policeman's family."

A chill climbed up Joe's back as he realized that they were talking about the teenager that had killed his father.

Agatha responded. "It was Charles that took responsibility for making sure that policeman's wife and son were taken care of, even though he had no part in what happened. Catherine even helped when she could. They are both such caring and generous people."

Margaret finally spoke. "What about the boy and his mother?"

Mary replied. "Last I heard the mother is doing well and the son graduated law school and now works with Catherine at the D.A. office. You've met him. He's been staying with us for the last three days."

Margaret responded in surprise. "You're talking about Joe Maxwell? Does he know?"

Mary replied. "He has no idea that Mitch was once one of us or of the part Catherine and her father played in his life."

Joe remained turned away, not trusting himself to face them. He remarked quietly under his breath. "He does now." He had momentarily forgotten how well even small sounds carried clearly in these underground chambers until he heard the cries of alarm from the three women. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw all three women staring at him in dismay.

With a sigh and half-hearted smile Joe turned around to face the three distressed women. "You know, I always wondered who had arranged for me to get that scholarship that put me through law school, and that trust fund that got my mother through those first years after dad was killed. I always wanted to tell them thank-you but I didn't know who to say it to." He reached out and took Mary's hand since she was the closest. "I've seen enough of this place and its people to know that how that kid turned out was not your fault. I'm sure you gave him every chance to make something better of himself and he turned his back on you."

They were all distracted by the arrival of Vincent and Catherine. Vincent was immediately aware of some tension over in the corner where Joe was sitting. Joe shifted seats to join the three women and held his finger to his lips in the common signal for silence.

After getting their breakfast, Cathy and Vincent sat down with Joe and the women.

Vincent cocked his head and commented. "There seems to be a particularly unsettled aura at this table."

Joe smiled at Vincent. "Just a little bit of old business. Nothing important right now."

Vincent looked askance at Joe. He knew that Joe was not telling the whole truth and that Mary, Margaret and Agatha were both feeling just a bit guilty but he could detect no malice. He decided to let it be for now. Conversation turned to more innocuous subjects and the emotional atmosphere slowly settled back to normal as everyone finished their breakfast.

After breakfast Catherine, Vincent and Joe retired to the library followed by about a dozen children ranging in age from five to ten. Joe got to see firsthand how Vincent taught literature to the tunnel children. It was obvious to Joe that Vincent really cared about these kids and the kids loved their teacher. Joe soon became just as engrossed in the lesson as the children. Catherine just smiled and listened to the sound of Vincent's voice.

~ o ~

Joe was pacing his chamber, fuming in frustration, when Catherine and Vincent entered. Catherine stared at Joe for a moment, blinked twice, glanced over at Vincent then cracked up. Vincent and Joe both looked at her in surprise.

With a flash of annoyance Joe inquired. "And what is it that you find so funny, Chandler." He blinked as a thought hit him out of left field. "Uh, what is your last name now?"

After a second Catherine got her laughter under control. "Well since my marriage isn't really recognized by the state I guess I'm still a Candler, but I personally think of myself as a Wells." She shrugged as the hint of laughter continued to pull at the corners of her mouth.

Joe stood there hands on hips and rolled his eyes. "OK, Wells, what is it that you find so funny?"

Vincent shrugged, a hint of a smile tugged at his mouth as his eyes began to twinkle with humor. "I don't find any humor here. Perhaps you should ask Catherine."

Joe growled. "I'm going to start throwing things." He threatened.

Catherine relented, her eyes flashing with suppressed humor. "It was just the image of you when we entered your chamber." She glanced again at Vincent. "I thought that you were pacing like a caged lion then I glanced at Vincent who looks like a lion but was perfectly calm and the dichotomy of the two images just cracked me up."

Joe glanced at Vincent who began to chuckle then he shook his head and also snickered at the humor of the image.

Geoffrey came running up at that point. He paused a moment to take in the sight of the three of them obviously reacting to something funny before handing a piece of paper to Joe. "This just came for you and Catherine." With one more glance at the three of them Geoffrey ran off down the tunnel.

Joe opened the piece of paper. "It's from your father. We are supposed to meet Detective Henderson in Judge Sanders' chambers at 8:00 tonight." Joe looked up at Catherine and Vincent. "I know this judge . . . reliable and incorruptible. Looks like Henderson is ready to move on Gabriel."

~ o ~

Judge Marilyn Sanders waved to her clerk as she entered her private chambers. She glanced at the clock on the wall, (7:48), as she sat down at her desk. Detective Harrison had said eight. There were very few people that she would meet this late to conduct court business. Detective Herman Harrison and ADA Joseph Maxwell were both in that very restricted list. Detective Harrison was a truly honest cop and one of the few that she would feel safe in taking his word on anything. As for Joe Maxwell, in the few years she had known him, she had developed a healthy respect for Maxwell's integrity and skill in the courtroom. She didn't know the Chandler woman but she had heard the rumors about her miraculous ability to find leads and witnesses that everyone else had missed.

Her clerk brought her a cup of coffee. "Is there anything else ma'am."

"No, that's all for now, Iada. I may need you though when our guests arrive so don't wander off." Judge Sanders smiled at the young woman. Iada Cook had only been with her about a year but she was a very efficient assistant.

A few minutes later Iada escorted Joe and Catherine into Marilyn's chambers. They had barely gotten past introductions when Detective Harrison arrived. "Well, Detective, now that we're all here, what have you got for me?" Judge Sanders inquired once the preliminaries were complete.

Detective Harrison handed a folder to her. "Maxwell and Chandler were eye witnesses to the original attack."

After looking through the documents she looked up at the detective. "The search warrant is simple enough, but why are the arrest warrants all listed as John Doe rather than their actual names?"

Henderson nodded his head. He had been expecting that question. "At present we don't know the real names of the company's officers. The names listed for them are all false. To be honest, we don't think there are any officers. We think the whole thing is just a front for that Gabriel character. We have been unable to get a real name for him either. We tried to run his fingerprints and came up empty." He shook his head. "We know this whole thing is a bit of a stretch but it's all we have and this Gabriel is extremely dangerous. He appears to be behind a lot of corruption in the city government as well as the massive increase in the drug trade and this may be our best chance to get him."

She nodded then looked over at Catherine and Joe. "You both agree on this?"

Joe nodded. "We do your honor."

Catherine added. "I have complete faith in our sources on this."

Judge Sanders gazed at them a moment longer, nodded, signed the warrants and handed them to Detective Harrison with the documentation folder. "Don't let me down on this. When this comes to trial I want to see everything by the book."

Three large men with Uzis entered Judge Marilyn's chambers Followed by one thin man that practically radiated evil. The thin man looked almost emaciated, like death warmed over. She looked into the skinny man's cold empty eyes and saw only soullessness there, and shivered.

"Everyone against the wall!" Ordered one of the three gunmen who then pointed at Henderson. "Get his gun."

Another of the gunmen took Henderson's pistol. The gunmen roughly shoved everyone against the bookcase. All the while the thin evil man silently looked on. He seemed totally devoid of emotion. The three gunmen then checked to make sure that no one else was armed. One of them took the folder from Henderson and handed it to the quiet evil man.

The evil man glanced through the folder then pointed to Catherine and Joe and spoke. "Bring those two." The mans voice was as cold and emotionless as his eyes.

Two of the gunmen grabbed Joe and Catherine and roughly jerked them toward the door. The gunman with Henderson's gun glanced back at the evil man. He waved his gun at the others. "And them?"

The evil man glanced back. "Kill them."

Iada wailed. "But, but I did what you asked."

The evil man responded. "Yes you did, and now your usefulness to me is ended."

They left the room and the remaining gunman raised his Uzi, pointing it toward Henderson and Marilyn. Marilyn closed her eyes and prayed that it would be quick.

Suddenly the room echoed with the terrifying roar of an enraged beast. The gunman glanced around nervously. A moment later the back door to Judge Marilyn's chambers exploded open and the most frightening apparition she had ever seen burst into the room. With a frightened squeak, Iada fainted dead away. Marilyn and Henderson both uttered cries of fear. Moving impossibly fast, the creature caught the gunman with a sweep of his clawed hand, throwing him against the wall. Both the Uzi and Henderson's gun clattered to the floor unfired.

The creature glanced momentarily at Henderson and Marilyn, there was intense rage in its eyes, then it ran out into the hall. Henderson quickly recovered his composure and scooping up his gun ran out into the hall followed closely by Marilyn. From the other end of the hall came the sound of two bursts of machinegun fire and another powerful roar, followed immediately by two blood chilling screams.

As Henderson and Marilyn rounded the corner they saw the two gunmen on the floor with the creature standing over them. Joe and Catherine were both up against the wall on the ground, and the evil man was bringing an Uzi to bear on the creature. Without thinking Henderson fired three shots and the evil man went down. The next instant Catherine was up and enfolded in the massive creature's arms while Joe was bending over the evil man. Marilyn and Henderson stared in stunned surprise as well as trepidation at the huge lion-man creature and Catherine in what was obviously a mutual embrace.

Catherine spoke first. "I was so afraid one of them had hit you when they fired."

Then the creature spoke. "They might have, if you had not shoved them at the critical moment." The creature's incredible silk over gravel voice touched something deep inside Marilyn sending a shiver up her spine. Henderson felt overwhelmed by the raw masculine power embedded in the creature's quiet voice.

Joe remarked at that point. "Gabriel is dead." He moved over to the two gunmen. "These two are still alive." Joe looked up at the judge and the detective. "Henderson, you'd better call for backup and an ambulance." He looked over at the creature. "You need to get out of here before anyone else shows up."

Catherine pulled back slightly from the creature. "You have to go. I'll be OK now." She gave the giant creature a gentle push. "Go ahead. Get outta here before you're seen."

The creature after a moment's reluctance backed away from Catherine. Just before it turned away, Marilyn glimpsed the look that passed between the creature and Catherine. It was so intense that Marilyn momentarily looked away. She caught the glance of the creature as it ran past her. She had the distinct feeling that that creature had just looked straight into her soul and judged her in that short moment their eyes had connected.

"What the hell was that!" Judge Marilyn Sanders blurted out after the creature had disappeared around the corner.

_**Continued in Part 19**_

* * *

'**Beauty and the Beast'** and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures. No infringement on copyrights is intended. This story is presented merely for the enjoyment of fans. Original concepts and story elements may be used by other authors as long as appropriate credit is given.


	19. Judgment

**The Road Not Taken****  
**(An Alternate Universe Story)_  
By Thomas Mc_

* * *

**Part 19 : Judgment  
**

Judge Marilyn Sanders sat in her chambers staring quietly at the two people seated across the desk from her. Catherine Chandler and Joe Maxwell quietly looked back each of their minds racing as they tried to decide what they should say. Catherine was desperately trying to remain calm in the face of the possible exposure of Vincent to the wrong people. Joe kept seeing his nightmare of men in black dragging Vincent off to oblivion. Judge Marilyn kept replaying in her mind those horrifying seconds from the moment that the evil emaciated man had said 'Kill them,' to the moment the creature had disappeared back through her chambers and out through the shattered door. Her initial impression of the creature was a huge roaring mass of power, speed, claws and rage. She tried to reconcile that impression with her second impression two minutes later of sexually charged tenderness and compassion when she had seen Miss Chandler and that huge creature embracing.

Meanwhile Detective Henderson kept glancing over at the silent three as he supervised the removal of the injured gunman and the sobbing handcuffed clerk from the judge's chambers. The CSI team had already gone over the judge's chambers, and was now checking out the place down the hall where Gabriel had died. Fortunately the only fatality of the day was Gabriel. Based on what Henderson's team had uncovered so far about him, he thought it was just as well Gabriel was gone. He was still trying to sort out exactly how he felt about that creature that had apparently saved their lives. He was just as glad that it had been his shots that had killed Gabriel, the real evil monster in all this. The situation was complicated enough without having Gabriel's death hanging over that creature's head.

After the officers and the two they had arrested had left the room Henderson placed his hand on the CSI lead's shoulder. "You have our statements and my gun for ballistics; I need to speak with the judge, before I leave." He closed the door to give the four of them some privacy. The other shattered door had been temporarily replaced with a sheet of plywood nailed over the opening. The maintenance man had told Marilyn that they would have a new door installed within the week or two. Judge Marilyn was a little annoyed about it because that door had been the back way down to the courthouse officials parking garage. Now she would be forced to take the long way around through the public areas to her car.

Henderson sat down in the last unoccupied chair in Judge Marilyn's chambers. For several uncomfortable seconds, silence so thick you could have cut it with a knife, reined within the room.

The silence was broken by Judge Marilyn. "Per your impassioned request, as well as for the sake of preserving other people's perceptions of my own sanity, I refrained from describing the appearance of that . . . lion-man, creature, whatever . . . that saved our lives. Now that we are alone, will someone please explain to me just exactly what the hell it was that I saw here tonight?" She glanced at Henderson who shrugged shaking his head then stared at Joe and Catherine expectantly.

Screwing up her courage, Catherine Chandler defiantly looked Judge Marilyn Sanders straight in the eye as she finally responded. "That, **creature**, as you called him, was Vincent. His name comes from the fact that he was found, as a newborn infant, hidden in the trash behind Saint Vincent Hospital. It was the middle of January and he was already suffering from exposure when they found him. The outcasts that found him hid him and raised him as one of their own. We have no idea where he comes from or how he ended up dumped where he was found. We only know that he couldn't have been more than twenty-four hours old when they found him." She paused a moment as she stared at the judge. "Vincent is about a year older than me, he is extremely intelligent, and he has a very gentle heart. I've already explained why we have to keep his existence a secret."

Judge Marilyn's eyes glittered with open curiosity as she stared back at Catherine Chandler and asked the next question that was nagging at her. "And just exactly what is **your** relationship with this . . . Vincent?" The one thing she couldn't get over was the way that Vincent and Miss Chandler had behaved toward each other. That added to the way the creature's voice had affected her and the way he seemed to look into her soul during that moment when their eyes met, left her extremely intrigued.

Catherine looked down at her folded hands. Following her gaze, Marilyn noticed, for the first time, the wedding ring on the left hand of the, supposedly, unattached Catherine Chandler. Her eyes widened momentarily at the ridiculous conclusion that popped into her mind. The idea was totally absurd.

Catherine looked back up at the judge and answered. "I first met Vincent when I was ten years old, less than a year after my mother died. I was very unhappy at the time and he helped me work my way through my grief. He became a combination of best friend and big brother to me. As we got older our relationship slowly changed. By the time we were teenagers it had become a decidedly romantic relationship. We married right after I graduated from college. Vincent and I have been married for five years."

Marilyn stared at Catherine for a moment in surprise at having her initial thought confirmed. Wealthy beautiful debutant Catherine Chandler, who could probably have any man she wanted, was living . . . sleeping . . . with that large dangerous looking creature? Then her mind drifted back to what happened in the hallway and she remembered when she first heard that voice. She had felt the powerful pull of that voice on her own libido. She realized that she had developed decidedly mixed and confusing feelings about being touched by those dangerous looking clawed hands.

It occurred to Marilyn that Catherine Chandler getting a marriage license would have created a decent sized sensation in the press. There had been none. "As far as I am aware, there is no record of any marriage."

"That is because Vincent does not legally exist and it has to stay that way for his safety." Catherine responded then after glancing down at the ring on her finger. "As a result, our marriage was accomplished in a private ceremony without a license; however it would still be legal in this state under the rules for a common law marriage."

Marilyn was looking at Joe now and directed her next question to him. "And just how long have you known about Vincent's existence?"

Joe replied. "Three days. I found out about him when he saved us from that assassin, Snow." He paused a moment, glancing over at Cathy. "Although I have known since law school that Cathy had a secret lover or husband named Vincent but I had never met the guy."

"And what was your opinion that first time you encountered . . . him." Marilyn asked as she looked closely at his face.

Joe gave out a snort of a short laugh and, returning her stare, responded. "Probably the same as yours. He scared the hell out of me . . . then I passed out." Joe shrugged. "Actually I think I passed out about a second after he collapsed." Joe shrugged. "We were both suffering from blood loss at the time."

Marilyn cocked her head. "And now?"

After a second to consider, Joe responded. "I've had three days to get to know Vincent. I find him intelligent, well spoken, thoroughly likable . . ." In his mind Joe added silently, '_And an absolutely terrifying adversary_.'

Judge Marilyn could see by his expression that there was more Joe could have said but kept to himself. As far as she could tell both of them were being truthful with her but they were also being very careful how much they would say. She returned to an earlier remark of Joe's. "So if I heard correctly, it was Vincent that killed that assassin three days ago?"

Henderson spoke up. "After what I've seen I can be fairly certain that it was that creature, ah, Vincent that took out that assassin three days ago." He glanced at Cathy apologetically, knowing that his words could only make the situation more difficult for her. "As best as I could tell without more complete forensic tests, Vincent's claws were probably the source the marks we found on Snow."

Joe replied this time. "Yes, it was Vincent. He was protecting Cathy and me." Joe almost imperceptibly straightened his shoulders. "What he did was legally justified by the laws of this state. The fact that his weapon was his own natural claws is no more relevant that if he had used a handy rock or other available weapon. And the situation warranted decisive and deadly action."

Judge Marilyn thought about it for a moment then responded. "There is a flaw in your argument councilor." She cocked her head at Joe. "Just an hour ago this very same creature took out three heavily armed men without killing anyone."

Catherine felt her heart jump to her throat at the judge's words and felt the need to defend Vincent. "That was a different situation. Snow was an experienced cold blooded assassin who did not hesitate to kill and Vincent had to act quickly and decisively to stop him. That man, Snow, still managed to shoot Vincent before he was taken out." She took a deep breath to calm down. "Today the opponents were less of a threat to him and were even a bit hesitant to kill. Also I was able to momentarily disrupt the two gunmen that were with us. That gave him the space to be more careful and restrained in his response."

After a moment to digest what Catherine had just said Marilyn looked at Catherine incredulously and responded. "It sounded like you were justifying his actions based on knowledge of what was going on in the victim's minds."

Catherine met the Judge's eyes calmly as she replied. "That is exactly what I am saying. Vincent can sense the emotions of anyone that is in the same room with him. He didn't know what they were thinking but he knew exactly what they were feeling, and he responded accordingly."

"That is a pretty unbelievable assertion you just made ahh . . . I don't know what I should call you, Miss or Mrs. And what is your last name?" Marilyn looked at Catherine expectantly

"Believable or not, it is true." Catherine replied then she responded to the question of name. "To the world in general I'm still Miss Chandler or Cathy to friends. To those in the know I am Catherine Chandler Wells or Mrs. Wells. Jacob Wells is the name of the man that raised Vincent so we have assumed Wells as his last name."

Joe spoke up at this point. "I also found Vincent's empathic ability hard to swallow but I have seen enough to convince me that it is real." He glanced over at Catherine then continued. "The first night after Snow was killed was particularly rough on Vincent. That was when I learned about his ability. One drawback of that ability is that he felt that man's death when it happened and it really got to him. I suspect that that fact alone would make him very cautious about killing another person unless he had no other choice."

Judge Marilyn thought back to that moment when she and the creature had locked eyes. She had the feeling that he was looking directly into her soul. She suddenly felt her own certainties crumbling before the insistence of the two people before her. The thought of that creature actually looking into her soul during those short encounters sent a chill down her spine. How in the world did Catherine handle it? She found that she had to know. "If what you say about, ah . . . Vincent is true, how do you handle the total lack of privacy?" She was still having difficulty thinking of that creature as a person with a name.

Catherine looked up at the judge and to Marilyn's surprise, the question brought out a soft smile and an almost blinding sparkle of joy in Catherine's eyes. "In certain circumstances, privacy is highly over-rated. Because of the bond we have, I know that I am always on his mind. He knows what I need and does his best to provide it. I know for-a-fact that he is totally head-over-heels in love with me and he knows that I am head-over-heels in love with him. We don't lie to each other because we can't. You cannot believe how freeing it is to know that you can be completely yourself with the one you love and feel his total acceptance of who you are."

Judge Marilyn again saw the blindingly brilliant look of love in Catherine's eyes that she had seen when the she and the creature had embraced in the hallway. Then it hit her exactly what Catherine had implied. She opened her mouth then closed it. Glancing over at Detective Henderson she saw surprise on his face as well. She wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer to the question she had been about to ask.

For several seconds there was silence as each of them considered everything that had been said.

The next time Judge Marilyn Sanders spoke, she decided to change direction. "Another question that keeps nagging at me is how he has managed to remain hidden all these years? Where has he been hiding?" She glanced back and forth between Joe and Catherine.

This was the one question that Catherine had been dreading. She glanced over at Joe then down at her wedding ring. "He currently lives in our home with me." She responded evasively.

"That doesn't really answer my question." Judge Marilyn shot back. "I'm talking about that group of outcasts that you mentioned. How has he lived in this city for over twenty five years without being spotted?"

Catherine shook her head. "I cannot really answer that. That secret is critical to Vincent's safety as well as the safety and well being of many of those that took him in. I can't betray their trust."

Judge Marilyn stared back at Catherine. "It is not wise to refuse to answer a question put to you by a judge, Councilor."

Joe spoke up in Cathy's defense. "I feel that I must side with Cathy in this, your honor. The secret currently under discussion has kept many innocent witnesses, including Cathy and myself, safe and alive. I learned early on that even witness protection can not protect a person as effectively as she can. She can make a witness vanish so completely that no one can find them and then produce the witness with only an hour's notice. Between her ability to find witnesses that no one else can and her ability to make endangered witnesses vanish 'til needed, I for one am glad to have her working for the District Attorney's Office."

Detective Henderson stepped in at this point. "In this instance I am inclined to agree with Joe. Miss Chandler and her network have been extremely helpful to us as well. More than once she has helped us find and protect important witnesses."

Judge Marilyn was a bit surprised by Detective Henderson's defense of Catherine. She looked at the three of them and thought about how she should handle this situation. She had a great deal of respect for both Detective Henderson and Joe Maxwell. She had heard only good things about Catherine Chandler. She had a strong suspicion that if pressed too hard, Catherine would simply disappear rather than put her friends and that creature in danger. She also suspected that she would have very little help from Maxwell and Henderson if it came to that. She decided to change tack.

"Something has happened in my court that has to be addressed . . . Perhaps, before I make any hasty decisions, I should meet with this Vincent personally and get to know him a little better." Though the thought of meeting in person with someone that could read her emotions and could probably kill her with one swipe of its clawed hands made her feel very uneasy, she thought that it was her best chance of resolving this situation.

The tense atmosphere that had fallen over the room was shattered when a thud was heard from the plywood sheet that had been nailed over the back doorway. As everyone looked over, there was a second thud and the left side of the plywood shifted inward about a foot. A hand wrapped around the edge of the plywood and a voice was heard. "I've got it. Knock loose the other side." Another thud and the other side came loose. Then two large black hands grabbed the sides of the plywood sheet and it swung around into the room revealing a large black man holding the plywood sheet and a slender older man picking up a small tool box. Both men looked a bit surprised to find the room occupied. The slender man spoke. "Oh . . . I apologize. I thought the room would be empty by now." He glanced around a bit nervously. "We're here to replace the door."

Judge Marilyn noticed that both men were strangely dressed in layers of patched together clothing that gave them a kind of medieval street person appearance. The large black man was watching the slender man and shrugged. She noticed that the slender man kept glancing over at Catherine. Then she realized that the two men's clothing looked a lot like what the creature had been wearing. "Just who exactly told you that my door needed to be replaced?"

The slender man swallowed nervously as he continued to glance at Catherine. Catherine spoke up. "Tell her Cullen, it's alright."

The slender man, now identified as Cullen, paused, took a deep breath and answered. "Um, ah, Vincent told me that he had broken through this door and asked me if I would fix it for him." He looked around the room. "Should I come back later?"

Marilyn glanced around then shrugged. "It's OK. You may go ahead and do your work."

After a moment's hesitation and another glance at Catherine, Cullen spoke to the black man. "Winslow, why don't you take that out and bring in the door?"

The man identified as Winslow took the plywood sheet out through the doorway and leaned it against the opposite wall. He then turned around and grabbed up a door that until now had been unseen and brought it into the room. The door was made of solid oak with quite beautiful carvings along the edges and in the center panels.

"My word!" Marilyn exclaimed. "That door is beautiful. Where did it come from?"

Cullen responded. "Thank-you Ma'am. I made it for Craig a couple of months ago but his customer never came to pick it up. I have no use for it and I figured I could use it to replace the one Vincent broke."

"I wouldn't mind having something like that for my front chamber door."

Cullen cocked his head and looked over at the other door for a moment then spoke. "I can do that. Both doorways are the same size so I can put that door where the broken one was and put this one in that doorway. No problem at all." He turned to Winslow and pointed to the front doorway. "Put it over there and we'll start by taking the existing door off."

Soon Cullen and Winslow were busy removing the undamaged door when Judge Marilyn started asking questions. "So, Cullen, Winslow, how long have you two known Vincent?" Both men glanced at Catherine and Marilyn noticed that she gave them an almost imperceptible nod.

Cullen spoke first. "I've known Vincent since Anna found him and brought him to us."

Winslow responded next. "Vincent and me, we grew up together. Being both abandoned as babies we kinda became friends." At that point the door Winslow was holding came free and he carried it over to the other opening.

Soon Cullen and Winslow were at work aligning the very heavy new door to the front doorway and cutting indentations in the new door for the old hinge locations; meanwhile Marilyn turned her attention back to Catherine. "When do you think it will be possible for me to speak with Vincent?"

Catherine responded. "We just have to make sure of a time and place where he will not be observed and you can meet."

Cullen spoke up. "This building is nearly empty and there wasn't a soul on the back stairs." He glanced at what he was doing then addressed Winslow. "Shift it just a smidge to the right . . . That's perfect. Now hold it." He started putting in a screw while returning his attention to the others. "I think Vincent is still in the sub basement. It would be safe for him to come up here. If you just wait till I get this door installed and closed, you could probably call for him."

Catherine seemed to think about it for a minute then replied. "That sounds feasible."

A few minutes later Cullen closed the new door with a satisfied grin. "OK, It's done."

Marilyn glanced over at Catherine and noticed that her eyes momentarily lost focus then Catherine smiled and remarked. "He's on his way up." A few minutes later the creature was standing there filling the open doorway.

"You wished to see me?" Vincent inquired, that incredible voice again sending shivers up Marilyn's spine.

After a moment to recover her composure Marilyn spoke. "I wanted to speak with you. Please come in." Vincent stepped over next to Catherine's chair and place one clawed hand on her shoulder. Marilyn noticed the gold wedding band on that hand. "How did you know to come up here?" Marilyn asked as she tried to get her conflicting emotions under control.

Vincent glanced down at Catherine as she touched the hand he had resting on her shoulder with her own. "I felt Catherine's need and I came to her." He looked back up at Marilyn and again she had the feeling that he was looking right into her soul. "I apologize for making you feel uncomfortable, but there is very little I can do about my appearance other than hide it."

Marilyn asked uncertainly. "Are you reading my thoughts?"

Vincent shook his head. "No, but I am feeling your emotions so I know that you are unsure what to do about me and you like my voice. As for what you are thinking, I can only guess at that based on the emotions I detect." Marilyn felt her face turn red at his mention of her reaction to his voice. "Sorry if I embarrassed you just now. I can suppress my senses somewhat but I'm unable to shut it completely off."

Judge Marilyn Sanders pulled herself together. "That's unimportant right now. What I want is for you to tell me in your own words what happened three days ago when you killed that assassin in the subway tunnel." She clearly saw a look of pain cross the creatures face at her request. To be replaced by a look of reluctance. It was amazing to her how human the emotions that crossed that un-human face were. Then she saw worry and sadness on Catherine's face as she gently caressed his clawed hand that rested on her shoulder. All the while the love that seemed to hang between them seemed to have taken on an almost physical presence.

After a few seconds Vincent began to speak. "I felt Catherine's worry and uncertainty so I decided to stay as close to her as I could. I felt a sharp spike in her fear then heard shots. I closed in letting Joe and Catherine run past me. As they passed me I felt Joe's pain and knew that he had been shot. I almost missed the approach of the assassin. I had never encountered anything like it before. There was almost no emotion, just a presence and a low hum of excitement for the chase. It was so inhuman, almost machine like. If not for the sense of his presence I might not have even known he was there." Marilyn found that it was impossible to listen to him speak and still think of him as just a creature. "I stepped out behind him and roared, partly out of rage and fear of the inhuman coldness I sensed, and partly to scare him and drive him away. He whipped around catching me by surprise and shot me. Normally I would have sensed the emotions before the actions and been able to counter it but there was no emotional shift to warn me. I had no chance to do other than strike out before he shot again." The pain and sadness returned to Vincent's eyes, much stronger than before. "There was no thought other than of Catherine on my mind. I was operating on pure fear and rage when I struck him." The pain in Vincent's eyes became even more intense as he hung his head. "He died very quickly. I've never felt anything so terrible . . . I never want to feel that again."

Judge Marilyn inquired into the ensuing silence. "What is it that you never want to feel?"

Vincent looked up the pain clearly written in his eyes. "His death. I felt him die. It was a terrible thing to feel."

His words shocked her. One of the things which kept humans civilized was their ability to imagine what it was like for the other person. Imagining another's death was bad enough but to actually experience another person's death had to be terrible indeed. Marilyn recovered her cool by slipping into her courtroom judge persona. She picked up the ornate wooden gavel that had been a gift from her father, and rarely had seen actual courtroom use, and spoke her judgment. "I find that the defendant acted reasonably in defense of other people and himself and rule this case justifiable self defense." She paused a moment scanning her desk then brought the hammer down with a sharp crack on the only uncluttered surface of her desk.

The entire room seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. Catherine looked shocked and surprised then relieved as she leaned her head against Vincent's arm. Cullen and Winslow both had stopped working during all this and now energetically resumed work on the door they were mounting. Then Marilyn saw a look of worry cross Catherine's face as she stood up and turned to face Vincent. At that moment Vincent's whole body seemed to have developed a slight slump.

"Vincent you need to sit down. All this exertion so soon after being shot is not good for you."

Catherine was all solicitude as she urged Vincent into the seat she had just vacated. As Vincent sat down Marilyn noticed several things at once. The first thing she noticed was the way Vincent had been favoring his right arm. The second was that there appeared to be a spot of blood on the upper right chest of Vincent's vest. Catherine noticed the same thing and when she pulled the vest back there was a slightly larger blood spot on the shirt underneath. The third thing she noticed was the way Catherine had winced at the same time Vincent had reacted to the pain in his chest and shoulder when he sat down and again when she pulled the vest back. It had become apparent to her that the emotional link between Catherine and Vincent worked both ways. She found herself wondering what it must be like to be privy to each other emotions like that.

Vincent spoke as he reached up with his left hand and touched Catherine's cheek. "I'm alright I just tore a stitch or two when I broke through the door."

Joe got up and moved his chair over next to Vincent. "Here, Cathy, sit here." As Catherine took the offered chair, too concerned about Vincent to voice her usual objections about not being a helpless female, Joe positioned himself against the nearest wall. "I'll just hold up this wall for a while."

Marilyn looked on in concern. "Are you sure you're going to be OK?"

Vincent nodded. "Just a case of trying to do a bit too much too soon is all. I will be fine with a bit of rest. Don't worry about me. Catherine can tell you that I'm tougher than I look." That brought out a snort of surprise from Joe, Detective Harrison and Marilyn. Winslow and Cullen both laughed outright and even Catherine smiled. Vincent continued after a pause. "I can tell that you're dying to ask more questions. What do you wish to know?"

"Everything." Marilyn responded. "But we could start with how you two met. I just can't see how Catherine Chandler's world could have intersected with the world of you and your friends." She indicated the other two men. Their clothes alone spoke of two completely unrelated social circles.

_**Continued in Part 20**_

* * *

'**Beauty and the Beast'** and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures. No infringement on copyrights is intended. This story is presented merely for the enjoyment of fans. Original concepts and story elements may be used by other authors as long as appropriate credit is given.


	20. Crisis

**The Road Not Taken****  
**(An Alternate Universe Story)_  
By Thomas Mc_

* * *

**Part 20 : Crisis  
**

**Spring 1987**

Catherine paused to look at the framed Marriage license that had been an anniversary gift from Judge Marilyn Sanders a little over a years and a half ago. Her finger gently caressed Vincent's name then moved across to touch her own name. She never asked how Marilyn had managed to accomplish this miracle without anyone's notice and decided that she didn't want to know. She only knew that it was genuine. Catherine glanced over at Vincent and returned his smile. He had noticed her action and she had felt his reaction to it. They linked arms and headed to Father's library.

The last six days spent below had been a very nice respite from the hectic life of an Assistant District Attorney and in two days it would be back to the old grind. The Renfro case had been long and particularly difficult. With Joe's blessing, Catherine had taken a well deserved vacation upon it's successful completion.

Catherine and Vincent entered the library chamber, hand in hand, smiling at everyone there. Charles and Jacob were hunched over the chess set deep in concentration. Margaret was standing behind Jacob, one hand resting on his shoulder and smiling indulgently down on her once and now again husband. Off to one side Alan and Mary stood with their arms around each other's waist looking on, though they seemed more interested in each other than the game. On the other side sat Peter, his face twisted into a grimace as he fought the urge to kibitz. They were all here for the usual Friday dinner together and, as was often the case, Jacob and Charles had ended up challenging each other to a chess match.

Catherine glanced over at Alan and Mary. Such an unusual couple. They were very much in love with each other yet they lived separately. Mary refused to leave the tunnels and move in with Alan. She also refused to allow Alan to give up his life above to move in with her. And so they lived separate lives yet they spent every second that they could squeeze out of their schedules together in the tunnels. Catherine and Vincent were two of the very few to know just how close Mary and Alan had really become which including many nights spent together in Mary's chamber. What mattered was that they were both content with their situation. In their own way, they had found their happy life.

Catherine's musing was interrupted by the sound of footsteps and she looked up to see Joe coming down the spiral stairs from the upper library entrance. He stopped on the other side of Catherine from Vincent and casually leaned toward Catherine resting his forearm on her shoulder. "Who's winning?" He inquired in a low voice. He and Vincent met eyes and nodded toward each other in acknowledgment.

Catherine studied the board for a moment then tilted her head toward Joe. "It looks to me like a tossup."

Joe grinned. "Peter looks like he's about to bust a vessel."

Catherine giggled and Vincent snorted then Vincent responded. "It's very hard on him watching all those potential moves being passed up by Father and Charles but both of them have threatened to banish him from the library if he starts kibitzing during their games."

Joe almost choked on his attempt not to laugh. In his mind's eye he saw an image of Jacob and Charles standing stern-faced and pointing toward the library door while Peter with head hung down slowly trudged through the doorway. At that moment, everyone's attention was drawn to the pipes announcing that Dinner was ready. Joe had managed by now to learn just enough pipe code to recognize the dinner bell. "Well I guess that means it's time to eat." He rubbed his hands together in anticipation. Nothing in the world above could compare with William's cooking and Joe never passed up any invitation that he could wrangle out of his friends from 'Below'.

Jacob sighed and remarked to Charles. "I guess we will have to finish this after dinner." He smiled and pushed back his chair.

Out of nowhere, Catherine felt a tiny inkling of concern from Vincent and, looking over at him, saw that he was staring at the two men at the chess board. She followed his gaze and saw Jacob standing up. Her father looked a bit dazed as he looked up at Jacob. Charles started to stand and swayed, his arm sweeping across the chess board knocking pieces to the floor as he sat back down hard. He began to slump down as though he was having trouble holding himself erect.

Jacob leaned over to touch his friend's shoulder. "Charles?"

At that moment Charles started to topple over and Margaret called out, "Charles!" at the same instant that Catherine called out, "Daddy!" Vincent leaped to one side of Charles just as Peter jumped to the other side, both catching Charles as he threatened to slide out of the chair. Jacob stepped around the chess table and knelt down before Charles. Catherine remained rooted to the spot, paralyzed by shock at what had just happened. All she could do was shake her head in denial of what she was witnessing.

Jacob waived his hand before Charles' dazed eyes. "Charles, what is wrong? Can you see me?" The blank unresponsive look in his friend's face had him very upset and worried.

Vincent responded. "He is very confused, Father. I don't think he is aware of what is happening." Charles blinked a few times then appeared to finally be focusing in on Jacob. Vincent reported. "His awareness is coming back."

Charles blinked several times rapidly and focused on Jacob's face then after a couple of seconds he spoke. "Jacob?" He looked around at all the concerned faces. "Ah . . . I ah, I'm OK, Jacob." He had a look on his face that hovered halfway between surprise and embarrassment as he glanced around again. With visible effort he straightened his shoulders. "Really I'm just fine."

Peter spoke up. "You are not just fine, Charles. You nearly passed out and Vincent felt your confusion and loss of awareness." Peter glanced up at Vincent for confirmation then over at Jacob who also nodded. "You have two reasonably decent doctors and an empath all agreed that this was more than just a simple dizzy spell."

Jacob stared hard into his friend's eyes. "Has this happened to you before?"

At Charles' hesitation Jacob and Peter both glanced over at Vincent who nodded.

"How many times has this happened?" Peter jumped in.

Catherine finally broke loose from her paralysis, moved to Jacob's side, and gazed worriedly into her father's eyes.

Charles glanced over at his daughter's worried face, then over at Vincent who was watching him closely, and finally back at Jacob's look of concerned determination. With a sigh he answered. "Twice. Once about a month ago and the other time was last summer."

Peter nodded then, giving his shoulder a squeeze, responded. "Charles, my good friend, tomorrow morning I want you to meet me at Saint Vincent's for a few tests." He held up his hand when Charles opened his mouth to speak. "No excuses. This is an order from your doctor."

Jacob jumped in at this point. "I concur, Charles. Consider it an order from both of your doctors . . . and closest friends. I have no wish to lose one of my best friends if I can help it."

Catherine added her voice as she reached out and took hold of both his hands. "Please, Daddy . . ."

Charles looked around at all the concerned faces that surrounded him and relaxed to the inevitable. "Alright. If you all insist on ganging up on me, I'll be there." He squeezed his daughter's hand back, giving her a half smile. "I never could refuse my girl anything she really wanted." He looked at Jacob then over at Peter and shrugged. "I suppose I would have to be a fool to ignore the advice of two such excellent physicians." He took a deep breath and stood up, letting it out in a sigh. "Now how about some food; I'm hungry."

Peter nodded. "That is a good idea but not for you, my friend. I intend to have an MRI and a complete neurological work up done so it's just water for you tonight." He shrugged. "Sorry."

Charles shook his head. "Spoil sport."

As they all filed out of the library, everyone kept a close eye on Charles but he appeared to be back to his normal self again though just a little bit more subdued.

~ x x x x x ~

The small knot of people had been waiting anxiously for the last few hours. Each one was trying to pass the seemingly endless seconds in their own way. They all became alert when Peter and an unknown middle aged man approached the waiting area. Catherine, Joe, Jacob, Margaret, Alan, Mary and Jenny all surrounded the two doctors to hear the verdict.

Peter's expression was serious as he introduced the other man that was with him. "Cathy, this is Doctor Stephen Hamilton. He is a neurovascular specialist and one of the finest neurosurgeons in the business. He came over from The Mount Sinai Medical Center, as a favor to me, to look at Charles. After I talked to him last night he suggested a CAT scan and, fortunately, we were able to schedule one for this morning." Peter then deferred to the other man. "Stephen?"

Stephen addressed Catherine. "We found a cerebral or intracranial aneurysm in your father's brain. That is an abnormal bulging outward of one of the arteries inside the brain. It's caused when the walls of the artery have become weakened and it has started to expand like a small balloon, pressing against the surrounding brain tissue. We were actually very lucky. Usually this type of problem goes completely undetected until it ruptures causing a hemorrhagic stroke." The doctor paused a moment before continuing. "If left untreated, your father will probably continue to have occasional episodes like last night, each one slightly worse than the previous one, until the aneurysm eventually ruptures, like an over inflated balloon, causing a fatal stroke. Because of its location, the episodes will probably consist of mental disorientation combined with a loss of vision and motor control. There is no way to predict how often or how many more he will have before the fatal stroke will occur. It could happen tomorrow night or it could happen years from now. He might even go for a year or two with no more episodes until it finally ruptures. The point is that it **will** rupture eventually. The sooner the aneurysm is repaired, the better his chances of survival. Each day of delay increases the chances that the aneurysm will rupture before we can fix it."

Catherine's heart was racing and she broke out in a cold sweat. She felt like she was about to pass out. Jacob and Joe each grabbed an arm to help support her.

Peter also reached out to touch her shoulder. "There is good news Cathy."

Stephen continued. "Peter is right, we've had two very lucky breaks. First we have been extremely lucky that the aneurysm was kind enough to announce its existence with that episode last night. Most of the time, the first indication we get is the fatal stroke. The second lucky break is that the aneurysm is in a location that makes it easily operable with an eighty-nine percent success rate. Your father is in excellent heath and though his blood pressure is a bit high, it is still within acceptable parameters, making him an excellent candidate for a successful procedure. The greatest danger at present is high blood pressure which will increase the chances of the aneurysm bursting sooner rather than later. We can give your father medicine to reduce his blood pressure but that will only delay the inevitable and create other unnecessary complications."

Peter took over. "We have already discussed the options with your father and arranged to transfer him to Mount Sinai Hospital this afternoon. Stephen will perform the operation tomorrow morning if Charles gives his consent." Peter took Catherine's hand. "Charles wanted to speak to you first before he decided."

~ o ~

Catherine stepped into her father's room. "Daddy?"

Charles looked up from the paperwork he was reading. "Hi there honey."

She came up to his bed and glanced down at what her father was reading. The word 'aneurysm' stood out like a beacon to her. "Daddy are you going to do it?" The concern in her voice was clear.

Charles took her hand. "I'm not sure. It's a gamble either way. If I don't have the procedure there is a chance, with proper care, that I could last for a couple of years yet." Charles looked up at his daughter. "If I let them operate there is a chance I could die on the table. Even if it is a success something else could take me next month. If I don't do it, this thing in my head could go next week. Neither option guarantees me a long life, and the operation carries the additional possibility that I wouldn't make it out of the operating room."

Catherine looked down at her father for several seconds thinking over what he had said. "I don't want to lose you." There were tears in her eyes. "I'm afraid that I might never see you again if you have it done but I know I will lose you if you don't. If you do it and it is a success then I will hopefully have you around for a lot of years to come." She squeezed his hand. "I wish I could just make the whole thing go away and there was no such decision to make."

Charles squeezed her hand back. "Life is full of difficult decisions and nothing is guaranteed. Regardless which decision I make or what the outcome, I have one thing I can hang on to. I know that you have Vincent. That gives me a lot of comfort, knowing that he will always be there for you. And I know that the tunnel community will also be there for you."

Catherine could think of no answer to that and just held tightly to her father's hand. Charles smiled up at his daughter. "Give us a hug?" Catherine leaned over her father's bed and hugged him tightly. "I love you, Cathy." He told her.

"I love you, Daddy." She responded, tears threatening to emerge at any moment.

After a minute they released each other. Charles was again holding tightly to Catherine's hand. "I think I would like to speak with my doctors now. Would you get Peter, Jacob and the surgeon for me?"

With a last squeeze he released her hand and she went out of the room to fetch the three men he had requested.

~ o ~

Catherine sat in the waiting room brooding. It had been only a half hour since Peter, Jacob and Doctor Hamilton had gone into her father's room but it felt like hours. She looked again at the door to the examination rooms and saw Jacob and Peter coming through them.

Catherine stood up a bit shakily as the two men came up to her and the others that had been waiting with her crowded in to support her.

Peter spoke. "Your father has made his decision. He has chosen to undergo the procedure. Doctor Hamilton has remained behind to supervise the preparations for the move to Mount Sinai Hospital." Catherine sat back down and Peter sat down in the chair next to her taking hold of her hands. "I want you to know that your father's chances are much better than what Stephen quoted you. Those numbers are an average for all similar procedures that have been performed. Doctor Hamilton is the top man in his field and his track record is much better than that." He gave her hands a squeeze. "That is why I asked him in on this, because, he is the best."

~ o ~

In the utility tunnel just below the hospital, Catherine rushed into the comfort of Vincent's embrace as Jacob, Margaret, Alan and Mary continued on down to the tunnel community. After a few minutes she and Vincent also started toward the community hub as Catherine filled Vincent in on everything the doctor had told her. As they got close to the hub they heard the news about her father going out over the pipes. Everyone they met in the tunnels stopped to give her their best wishes before continuing about their business.

Catherine and Vincent entered his old chamber, now their weekend getaway, and he dropped the tapestry across the opening. They both sat on the bed and Catherine finally let go, pouring out all her fears and worry as tears into Vincent's vest as he gently held and rocked her while poured his love and comfort into her over their link. Soon she had regained her equilibrium. Shortly afterward Catherine was stretched out on the bed and Vincent was in his old overstuffed chair. He was reading from a new book of humorous science-fiction stories to help lighten her mood.

After a while they heard Geoffrey announcing his presence outside of their chamber. Vincent spoke up. "You may come in, Geoffrey."

The tapestry billowed inward then slid off his back as he turned around carrying a large tray with food for both of them. "William thought you both might be hungry so he sent you a late lunch." Geoffrey set the tray down on the low table next to the bed.

Catherine sat up and swung her legs off the bed. "Thank-you Geoffrey, and thank William for us." She inhaled the rich aroma of the stew William had made for them as her stomach rumbled in response.

Geoffrey chuckled as he headed out of the chamber. "Just bang on the pipes if you need anything." He dropped the tapestry back into place as he exited.

A few hours later as it got close to dinner time Peter arrived in the home tunnels. By then they had hooked the tapestry back so he walked on in. "I come bearing tidings. They have settled your father in his room at Sinai. You can visit him there later if you wish." The pipes announced that dinner was served and Peter grinned. "Seems my timing was perfect. Shall we go to dinner?"

After dinner Peter took Catherine up to the Mount Sinai Hospital to see her father. Since there was no direct connection between the tunnels and Sinai Hospital they went up into the park and walked the short distance to the hospital. They kept the visit short so that Charles could get plenty of rest. Peter went back to the tunnels with Catherine where they were met at the hidden entrance by Vincent. The three of them headed down together. Vincent and Catherine stopped at their chamber and Peter went on to visit with Jacob for a while before heading back home.

~ x x x x x ~

Jacob glanced over at Margaret seated next to him as she squeezed his hand reassuringly. She knew how uneasy he got when he came 'Above' and this was twice in as many days. They both looked over at Cathy as she paced the waiting room. Jacob kept thinking how much it reminded him of Vincent when he was troubled or impatient. Jacob glanced around at the others that had showed up here to support Catherine. Besides Joe, Alan, Mary and Jenny; there were several others that had come. There was Nancy, who had come down from Connecticut last night as soon as she had heard the news. There was a woman named Kay who had become close to Charles. Jacob knew about her but had never met her. There was also two other strangers that Jacob knew about but had never met. One was Detective Henderson and the other was a Judge Marilyn Sanders.

Peter had been here for a short while but had been unable to stay for long due to commitments to his other patients but he promised to check back in whenever he could get away.

Judge Sanders glanced around at the collection of people that had shown up to support Catherine. There were a few faces that she had never seen before. She knew of Margaret Chase but she had no idea who the man with her wearing the twenty years out-of-date suit might be. She was intrigued by the clothes worn by the woman named Mary who was obviously very close to Alan Taft. She had come to the conclusion that Mary and Jacob must both be members of that secret enclave that had originally raised Vincent. Marilyn Sanders had been over to Catherine and Vincent's home several times in the last few years and had gotten to know them both very well. She still didn't know where this hidden place was that she had heard about though she had some ideas, most of which were as farfetched as Vincent's existence had once been to her. She glanced back over to Cathy, thinking that it was a real shame that Vincent couldn't be here with her now.

Henderson watched Cathy pacing with a deep feeling of sympathy. He had known her almost since she had first come to work at the district attorney's office. In that time he had developed a healthy respect for her strength and her resourcefulness. It really bothered him to see her looking so unsure, so vulnerable. He even found himself wishing that that creature, Vincent, could be here for her. He had only seen Vincent twice since that first day and he still didn't know what to think of him but he knew how important he was to Cathy. He glanced over at the strangely dressed woman named Mary and wondered if she was one of those secretive outcasts that were supposed to have raised Vincent. Though he was very curious about where those outcasts might be residing, he had decided to let it be. Too many times he had relied on Cathy's mysterious network to keep witnesses safe that were too hot to trust anyone else with. He wasn't about to risk such a valuable resource by looking to closely.

Everyone in the room looked up as a tall, dark headed, man came striding into the waiting room. He went straight over to Cathy and gave her a hug. Marilyn and Henderson both noticed the three prominent scars on the man's left cheek and came to the same conclusion. That must have been done by Vincent.

After a few moments, Devin released his hold on Cathy. "I came as soon as I heard. How is he?"

Catherine replied. "We don't know anything yet. Peter says that the doctor working on him is very good and his chances are excellent."

Devin glanced around taking in the three people that he was unfamiliar with. He leaned in and spoke softly. "Do they know about . . ." He shrugged. "You know?"

Catherine responded just as quietly. "Detective Henderson and Judge Sanders know about Vincent but not about the tunnels. Kay is a friend of Daddy's but she doesn't know anything about Vincent or the tunnels."

Devin nodded. "A verbal mine field, got it. I'll be careful what I say."

Catherine took Devin over to where the detective and the judge were sitting. "I wanted to introduce Devin Wells. He is a very dear friend. Devin, this is Detective Henderson and Judge Marilyn Sanders."

"Pleased to meet you both." Devin noticed the way their eyes went to his scars and, touching them with his left hand, he nodded. "Yes this was Vincent. He was ten and I was fourteen. Like any siblings, we had occasional disagreements but that was the first time we ever came to blows. Up until that day Vincent had not really understood just how dangerous his claws could be and I hadn't realized just how much tougher he was than me. All I got out of it was three scars. Vincent was devastated by what he had done. It took him a long time to get over it."

~ o ~

Everyone looked up at the sound of the doors to the operating rooms opened to see Doctor Stephen Hamilton coming out. He glanced around and approached Catherine. "Miss Chandler, we found the aneurysm right where we expected it and were able to repair it successfully. Your father has been taken to recovery and as soon as he wakes up we will run a few tests to make sure there have been no permanent ill effects from the aneurysm or the surgery." He glanced around at all of the people that were there with her. "As soon as we move your father out of recovery they will send someone to take you to him." Again he glanced around. "This type of surgery is hard on the body, and your father will not be up to a lot of visitors so I must insist that no more than two be allowed in the room with him at a time and the visits must be kept short." The non-committal professional demeanor eased somewhat and he smiled at Catherine. "The surgery went smoothly and there were no complications so I am expecting your father to make a complete recovery. Now, if you will excuse me I have another patient scheduled shortly and I must go prepare for that procedure." With another nod and a smile he turned and left the waiting area.

All of Catherine's friends closed in to express their relief and tell her how happy they were for her. After several minutes Joe, Alan, Marilyn and Henderson had to leave but they all promised to check in on her later. Jacob, Margaret, Mary, Jenny and Nancy stayed with her 'til an orderly came to take her to her father.

The first thing Catherine noticed was the bandage covering most of her father's head. He looked over as she entered his room and gave her a tired smile. "Hello honey, it seems that the gamble paid off and I'm still here."

She was immediately by his side. "Oh, Daddy, I was so worried." She started to go for a hug then hesitated, uncertain if it was a good idea with all those wires and tubes connected to her father.

Charles reached up in an open invitation for the hug. "It's OK darling. I'm not going to break."

She finished her move and they embraced. "I am so happy you are going to be OK." Tears shimmered un-spilt in her eyes.

Charles returned the embrace. "Don't worry about me, honey, the doctor says that I will be around for a long while yet."

A few minutes later Peter came into the room. "I heard from Doctor Hamilton and he said you would be as good as new and just as ornery as ever in no time. Unfortunately he said that he couldn't do anything about your chess game." The two men clasped hands. "I'm glad to see that you came through OK."

By that evening they had all had a chance to see Charles for a short visit.

A week later Charles was declared free of any ill effects from his surgery and discharged from the hospital.

_**Continued in Part 21**_

* * *

'**Beauty and the Beast'** and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures. No infringement on copyrights is intended. This story is presented merely for the enjoyment of fans. Original concepts and story elements may be used by other authors as long as appropriate credit is given.


	21. Attacked

**The Road Not Taken****  
**(An Alternate Universe Story)_  
By Thomas Mc_

* * *

**Part 21 : Attacked  
**

Joe was on his way over to the file cabinets when he was distracted by the sound of Cathy fuming a bit loudly about something. He stopped and looked over in her direction. She was grumbling unintelligibly to herself as she moved things around on her desk with a little more emphasis than necessary. Joe did manage to catch two words, 'stubborn' and 'pig-headed' during her private tirade. After watching her for a few moments Joe finally walked up to her desk and perched himself on the corner. "A-hem, ah, is everything alright, Radcliffe?"

Catherine looked up at Joe and her eyes sparkled with the fire of strong emotion. The fire faded as she got her emotions under control. Finally she replied. "It's my father. It's only been a bit over a month since his surgery and he decides to go back to work. The doctor told him three months." She shook her head. "Dad said that he was bored of just sitting around the house. Bull headed . . ." She trailed off, again shaking her head and looking down at her desk.

After a half a beat, Joe remarked. "Yea, I know what you mean. He's just like his daughter."

Catherine's head snapped up, her eyes flashing fire. Joe held up his arms as though warding off a physical blow. A moment later, Catherine relaxed with a self depreciating smile and started to laugh. "Touché'."

"I'm sure your father will be OK." Joe spread his hands and grinned. "He has two very competent doctors, a concerned daughter and an empathic son-in-law watching him like a flock of hawks."

Catherine chuckled in response. "You do have a point." At that moment she was distracted by movement behind Joe.

Joe noticed her look and shifted around only to nearly fall off the corner of her desk, stunned by the approach of a police officer and a smiling pregnant Cathy Chandler. He shook his head trying to get his disturbed world view to settle then looked back at the other Cathy Chandler still sitting at her desk.

Then Cathy called out, "Sarah, Kyle, what brings you to the DA's office and when is it due?"

Suddenly Joe's world snapped back into focus as he glanced back and forth between the two women. It had been two years since that meeting where he had encountered Sarah Connors. Back then her hair had been long and bleach blonde. Now her hair was very close to the length and shade of Cathy. Though there were other subtle differences, if Sarah had not been so obviously pregnant, he would have had difficulty knowing which was which.

Smiling, Sarah replied. "I'm five-and-a-half months." She grabbed Kyle's elbow. "We're here because Kyle has a deposition to give. We just left my doctor, where I had a sonogram, and I thought I'd come by with him and see if you would be free for lunch."

Joe remarked. "Ah, ha, you must be the deposition that I was supposed to take. I was coming over to get the case file when I got distracted." Joe stood up. "I just need to fetch the case file and I'll be right with you." Joe headed for the wall of filing cabinets.

Grinning, Catherine inquired about the baby. "So you had a sonogram, huh, did you find out about the baby's sex?"

Kyle jumped in totally dead-pan. "The baby's still way too young to have sex."

"Kyle!" Sarah giggled as she smacked him in the belly with the back of her hand, getting an 'oooff' out of him. "It's a boy. We're planning to name him John after my maternal grandfather."

"Congratulations." Catherine responded. "I'm looking forward to meeting John after he makes his grand entrance." She glanced over at Kyle. "And how is the prospective father handling it?"

"Oh, pretty typical." Sarah grinned. "Trying desperately to hang on to his sanity while dealing with his own nervousness and an extremely emotional female with weird cravings." Both girls broke into giggles as Kyle shook his head.

Joe returned with a folder in his hand. "The way those two are giggling, it must be at our expense." He tilted his head to his right. "Let's go get this done."

Catherine stood up. "You boys go have fun. Us girls are going to lunch and talk about you." She grabbed her purse and came around her desk. "We'll see you later." She grabbed Sarah's elbow and started for the elevator.

Joe and Kyle watched them walk away then glanced at each other and Kyle commented. "I shudder to think what those two will be saying about us."

Joe clapped the policeman on the back. "You and me both . . . Now let's go find a stenographer and get this done." He led Kyle toward the interrogation rooms.

~ o ~

After a couple of hours, Joe and Kyle returned to the DA bullpen to find Catherine back at her desk but Sarah was nowhere in sight. Kyle glanced around. "Where's Sarah?"

Catherine looked up from her desk. "She wasn't feeling quite right. I left her lying down in Joe's office." As both men turned toward Joe's office, Catherine spoke again. "Joe, could I speak to you for a second?"

Joe turned back toward Catherine as Kyle entered Joe's office. "What is it, Radcliffe?"

Kyle entered the office and saw Sarah standing at the window with her back to him. "Sarah? Are You OK?"

At her desk Cathy looked around then spoke. "Joe something happened at lunch today. I think I May be pregnant." Then a very pregnant Cathy stood up.

Sarah still looking out the window spoke. "Kyle, I think something has happened to the baby." Then a Sarah turn around the was decidedly not pregnant and very slender.

Two jaws dropped and two male voices called out in surprise. Both men turned to look at the other as understanding sprang up. Then the office was filled with laughing. A few minutes later the two girls had changed back into their own tops. Kyle and Sarah left as Joe and Catherine settled in his office.

Catherine was still snickering sporadically. "I'm not sure who had the funnier look on his face, you or Kyle."

"You really pulled one over on us Radcliffe." Joe remarked with a chuckle of his own. "Just, when you and Vincent finally do have kids, give me a little more warning, OK." He saw a shadow momentarily cross her face. "Cathy, did I say something wrong?"

She shook her head. "No, Joe, not really." She sighed. "It's just that Vincent is reluctant to have children. He is afraid that they might look like him."

Joe frowned. "So? I kinda think it would be neat to have a few miniature Vincents running around."

"I wish Vincent felt that way." She shook her head.

Joe shrugged. "Well you're both still young. Give it time. I'm sure he will come around and if he doesn't, your father and I will have a little talk to him. Set him straight." He grinned. "In the meantime that just means that the prosecutor's office gets your uninterrupted service for a little longer.

~ x x x x x ~

As Catherine made her way to her father's office, she greeted all the familiar faces. It had been a week since he had returned to work and, thought everyone thought he had come back too soon, he seemed to be doing just fine. She opened his door to see him on the phone. He waved her in. "Hal, let me call you back." He hung up the phone and leaned forward. "Hal Sherwood is coming up from Atlanta tonight. Will you have dinner with us?"

At that moment, Jerry stuck his head in the door. "Tom Gunther is having a party for the architects of the new project." He shrugged. "Another excuse to wine and dine the planning commission." He smiled at Catherine. "Hi Cathy. Tom asked about you. I think he would like to get to know you better."

"I'm afraid Tom just isn't my type." She shrugged and turned to Charles. "I would love to have dinner with you and Hal." She paused before continuing. "In the meantime, how about lunch?"

Jerry left to go about his business. Charles glanced at his watch then his desk calendar. He reached over and hit the intercom button on his phone. "Christina, I'm going to be out of the office for lunch. I should be back in about an hour and a half."

"Sure thing Mister Chandler." Replied the voice from the phone.

Charles stood up and smiled at his daughter as he grabbed his coat. "Shall we go?"

~ o ~

It was after dark and Vincent was in the park. He had become restless waiting for Catherine to return from her dinner with her father and his friend. Just as he sensed that Catherine was approaching, he heard the screech of tires coming from the direction of the nearby road. A dark van came to a screeching stop near his location and the side door slid open. He caught a glimpse of shadowy figures inside the van then something that looked a lot like a human body was thrown out of it. The body landed on the damp grass with a thud and rolled down the slope away from the road then another much smaller object flew out the closing side door as the van pulled away. Vincent heard a faint groan and felt a great deal of pain and despair that was rapidly fading into unconsciousness as raced over to where the body had come to rest.

She was lying face down on the wet grass. Vincent gently turned her over and gasped at what he saw. Her face had been badly slashed up. There was also a nasty looking wound in her side. There was a lot of bleeding from all of her wounds and Vincent knew that he had very little time to get her to help. Father wouldn't like it but his infirmary was the nearest source of help and her best chance of survival. With a quick check Vincent also discovered that two ribs in her back were also broken. He quickly weighed his options. He couldn't carry her in front of him because it would put too much pressure on those two broken ribs. He also couldn't risk her waking up and seeing his face which might cause her to struggle. He also needed one hand free for safety since he would be descending those spiral stairs quickly. He had to settle for the fireman's carry though it was far from ideal. As gently as he could, he lifted her and draped her over his shoulder then headed below.

Catherine had just started for home when she felt Vincent's presence in the park so she directed the taxi driver to take the park route. As she got close the taxi entered the park she felt Vincent's distress. She had ordered the cab driver to let her out in the middle of Central Park where the road was closest to the main secret park access. The driver thought she was crazy but he let her out. Catherine ran to the tunnel entrance and then raced down, following her sense of his presence and spurred on by the depth of his distress. She burst into the infirmary to see Vincent standing there stained with blood and looking a bit dazed.

He looked up at Catherine then spoke. "Catherine it was horrible. They cut up her face 'til she was unrecognizable and beat and stabbed her. They threw her out of a dark van and left her there in the park to die." He looked over at the tapestry covered doorway to Father's little surgery chamber. "I don't know if she is going to survive."

Catherine took one of Vincent's blood smeared arms and pulled him out of the infirmary. "Come on. Father will probably be working on her for a while yet. Let's go get you cleaned up."

~ o ~

A while later Catherine and a cleaned up Vincent were back in the infirmary. Vincent was talking. ". . . Her size and shape, even her hair color was so much like you. Her face was so badly cut up that I couldn't tell what she really looked like. Even with our bond, for a moment I had this terrible feeling that it might have been you."

Catherine caressed his cheek. "Well it wasn't me but I will find out who she is and who did this to her." There was a fire of determination in her eyes. She and Joe were particularly passionate about prosecuting this type of crime.

Father came out of the operating chamber, his face grim. "I did the best I could for her." He took a deep breath. "She will live but the scaring on her face will be pretty severe. There was nothing I could do about that."

Catherine gripped his forearm. "You saved her life, Father and once she has had a chance to heal, I know some excellent plastic surgeons that can probably fix up her face." She glanced through the opening at the deathly still, mummy like, figure. "You've completely wrapped her face, even her eyes. Was she blinded?"

"No." Jacob responded as he glanced back at the poor woman. "Her eyes are OK, but one eyelid was badly sliced and I don't want her opening her eyes until that eyelid has sufficiently healed." He looked back at Catherine. "That should take about sixteen days. I would not recommend removing the bandage before then. Meanwhile what are we going to do with her?"

Catherine responded. "You could put her in that unoccupied chamber next to our chamber. Vincent and I will look after her. Then when she's well enough we can move her to one of the spare rooms of our brownstone before removing the bandage."

~ x x x x x ~

Carol awoke from a nightmare filled with flashing blades, searing pain, the taste of blood, the stink of sweat and the sound of her own screams . . . to a new nightmare of darkness, dull insistent aches, dry swollen mouth, the smell of earth and the irregular clanking of metal on metal. The seemingly unending fear threatened to overwhelm her. Fragments of memories of the attack swirled through her mind, accompanied by the erratic clanking sound that seemed to permeate her dark environment. On top of that she felt weak and slightly woozy. With a weak hoarse voice she expressed her denial. "No . . . No."

From out of the darkness floated a kind gentle female voice. "You're safe . . . Your safe now."

Carol swallowed as she tried to get control of her voice. "Where am I?" She barely managed to get out.

This time a male voice came out of the darkness. "No one will hurt you . . . you're safe here." The silk over gravel voice had quality that reached down to her very core. It was the most beautiful male voice she had ever heard and just the sound of it soothed her mind. Despite her pain and the oppressive darkness she wanted, more than anything, to hear it again.

"Hospital?" The weakness of her voice frustrated her.

"No." Replied that male voice. "But you're going to be alright." The female added.

She tried again this time her voice was a little stronger. "Why aren't I in a hospital?"

Again that wonderful male voice responded. "There was no time . . . you were bleeding."

She brought her hands up to her aching face and found it covered in bandages. "What did they do to me . . . My eyes!"

The soothing male voice responded. "You're eyes were not hurt; of that we're sure." Again the female added. "You must Rest now."

She wanted to say more, but her body was so tired and she slipped back into sleep. Her dreams were filled with flashing knives in the darkness but this time there was a dark shadowy figure with kind eyes standing between her and the knives.

~ o ~

She awoke to the awareness of the sounds of movement, the rustle of cloth, barely audible voices and the still ever-present clanking. "Who's there?" The voices stopped. "Who are you?"

"Vincent." Replied the male voice. It had not been her imagination. The voice was real.

"Vincent." She repeated the name.

Then the kind female voice returned. "I'm Catherine."

The voice now identified as Vincent continued. "My father treated your injuries." There was a pause and she thought she heard whispering then he continued. "My wife and I are taking care of you 'til you are strong enough to return home." Pain shot through her side when she tried to sit up and Vincent's voice gently admonished her. "You have broken ribs, you need to be still."

Carol asked again. "Where am I?"

Catherine's voice responded. "Where no one can hurt you."

Then a twinge reminded Carol of the dull ever-present pain in her face and side. "My Face hurts."

Vincent responded with the question. "Tell me your name."

"Carol . . . Stabler." She was distracted by a shift in the erratic metallic tapping sound. "That tapping, it never stops."

Vincent replied to her comment. "It's just people, talking to each other by tapping on the master pipes."

"They're messages!" She responded.

Vincent spoke. "Carol, try to rest." Catherine added. "If you need anything, one of us will be close by." Carol felt her bed shift as a heavy weight lifted from it. Vincent's voice returned. "Don't be afraid. Please don't be afraid."

"I'll try." She replied as she felt herself lulled by the ever-present tapping.

~ x x x x x ~

Over the following, darkness shrouded, days, things seem to settle into a routine. Catherine usually fed her and tended to her needs. There was always someone there to talk to when she was awake. Vincent and Catherine took turns reading "Great Expectations" to her. Twice she had been fed and entertained by someone with a very young sounding voice that identified himself as Geoffrey. Once she was attended by a new male voice full of brashness and humor that identified itself as Devin, brother to Vincent. He entertained her with wild, first person, tales of adventure in far away places all around the world. Several times she asked them where she was but they always avoided the question or they told her outright that it was a secret. Finally after several days, Catherine told her that they were underground beneath the subways of New York.

The days seemed to run together until she lost count. On this particular day she was being fed a delicious soup by Vincent when she reached up to touch the hand that belonged to that beautiful voice. Her hand touched fur. She gasped in surprise as she jerked her hand away. All that day she couldn't get that moment when she had touched Vincent's fur covered hand out of her mind. She was confused, uncertain. That was the last time Vincent came near her. It was almost like he was keeping his distance because he sensed her uncertainty about him.

Two days later Catherine had been reading to her and had gone to get her some of that tea that she had developed a taste for. Carol began brooding about her situation and what had happened to her. Finally she could no longer stand it. She had to know what they had done to her. She began to unwind the bandage that covered her head and face. Once she had the bandage off, she looked around the chamber, almost totally oblivious to the strangeness of her environment, and spotted a small vanity with a mirror.

She looked into the mirror. "Oh, God . . . No!" It had felt horrible. It looked worse. Her face was covered with stitches. She looked like Frankenstein. Then she heard her name and a frightening creature appeared in the mirror behind her. She turned, screamed and fell back against the vanity. The creature turned away from her then after one quick glance back at her, it started moving away from her.

The next instant a very beautiful woman, dressed in elegantly tailored clothes, ran into the underground chamber. The woman barely paused glancing over at Carol, taking in the situation, then rushed into the arms of the fearsome creature. The woman gently caressed the side of the creature's face. "Vincent, it's OK. I'll take care of this. You go fetch Father." Then as Carol looked on in stunned surprise, the woman - kissed the creature, on the lips! - and released him from her embrace.

As the creature left the chamber two thoughts hit Carol like a ton of bricks. She had recognized the woman's voice as the voice she had identified as Catherine . . . and Catherine had called that creature Vincent. That gentle, very masculine, voice that often touched her to her core and sent shivers of desire up her spine had come from that creature. For a moment she thought she was loosing her mind.

Then Catherine stepped up to her and gently took her arm. "You've just had a few shocks, Carol. Why don't you come over to the bed and sit down 'til you can regain your equilibrium." She led Carol over to the bed and eased her down.

Carol looked up at Catherine. "Was that really Vincent?"

"Yes, that was Vincent." Catherine replied.

"How? . . . What? . . ." She shrugged when she didn't know what to say.

Catherine cocked her head. "What he is, is my husband. How he came to be, is simply that he was born that way. Why he was born that way is anybody's guess." Catherine pulled the chair over beside the bed sat down and took hold of Carol's hands. "Who did this to you, why did they do it?"

Carol looked down at her hands a moment before answering. "I . . . I was working for this, ah, escort service." She reluctantly looked up at Catherine. "It's called Mayfair. They've got a pretty good clientele, you know businessmen from out of town." She shrugged. "That sort of thing."

Keeping her voice neutral, Catherine remarked encouragingly. "And you'd go out with them."

Carol nodded without looking up. "Yea more or less. But it's run by this man, Marty Belmont, a real bad character. He was using the service to shake down his customers. Sometimes he would have the girls carry tape recorders. Sometimes he'd, ah, get it on film."

"I see. And how did you get into trouble?" Catherine inquired.

Carol shrugged. "When I wouldn't go along with it, Belmont got it into his head that I was going to spill everything to the cops so he sent his men . . . to get me."

Catherine knew she was coming to it. "So the men that attacked you, they were Belmont's men."

Carol nodded. "Yea, I recognized two of them, Ralph Manconi and Lyle Van Gelder."

Catherine pondered for a moment. "If those three men were arrested, would you be willing to testify against them?"

Carol reached up touched her cheek feeling the prominent stitching as a single tear slid down it. She looked up at Catherine and her eyes hardened. "Yes."

They were interrupted by an unfamiliar male voice. "Catherine, may I come in?"

Catherine glanced at the tapestry covered door and smiled. "Yes Father, you may come in." Then she looked back at Carol. "Father is the doctor down here. He saved your life."

An older man dressed in layers of patched together clothing with a rough wood cane in one hand and a black doctor's bag in the other, entered the chamber. He set his bag on the bed and scowled at Carol a moment then spoke. "Those bandages were not supposed to come off for another two days young lady." Then his expression softened as he gently touched her chin and tilted her head, left then right. "Close your eyes please." She closed her eyes and felt a very slight pull on her left eyelid. "Ok now open them." She complied and saw him nodding to himself. "Good, good. I was afraid you might have pulled the stitches in your eyelid but it seems to be healing well. Removing the bandages early doesn't seem to have done you any harm after all." The 'doctor' that Catherine had called Father checked the rest of Carol's injuries and pronounced them all healing well.

At this point Carol looked down at herself and realized that she was dressed in very much the same style as the doctor.

_**Continued in Part 22**_

* * *

'**Beauty and the Beast'** and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures. No infringement on copyrights is intended. This story is presented merely for the enjoyment of fans. Original concepts and story elements may be used by other authors as long as appropriate credit is given.


	22. Full Circle

**The Road Not Taken****  
**(An Alternate Universe Story)_  
By Thomas Mc_

* * *

**Part 22 : Full Circle  
**

Carol touched the strange patchwork clothing that she was wearing, it felt so soft and warm, and then she looked up at Catherine. "What happened to my clothes?"

Catherine shrugged. "I'm afraid your clothes were ruined." She cocked her head appraisingly. "You appear to be very close to my size and I have plenty of spare clothes. You're welcome to pick-out something more appropriate for your return above."

Carol ran her hands over the soft warm fabric. "I guess it's OK for now but I don't think it would be very appropriate in public. They might think that I'm a homeless person." Her brows furrowed as she again looked at Catherine. "You asked me earlier if I would be willing to testify. What has that got to do with you?"

Catherine nodded. "I wondered when that question would occur to you. I work for the New York District Attorney's Office as an ADA. If we file charges and you do agree to testify, there is a high probability that I will be involved in the case." Catherine paused looking Carol straight in the eyes. "Carol, are you sure you understand the risks?" Catherine shook her head. "Don't do this for me. I don't want you to do anything that doesn't feel right."

Carol gazed back just as seriously as she again touched the stitches on her face. "I'm doing this for me."

They were interrupted by a voice that Carol recognized as Devin coming from the direction of the tapestry that apparently served as a door. "May I come in?"

Catherine seemed to be watching Carol to see how she would respond. Carol thought back to that time Devin had watched over her and remembered that he had called Vincent his brother. After a moment she shrugged. "I guess it's OK."

A tall rather handsome man entered the room. The first thing Carol noticed, however, was the three prominent scars on Devin's left cheek. He came over and stood before Carol a moment before speaking. "I hear my little brother gave you a bit of a surprise earlier."

Carol lowered her head, as much to hide her embarrassment as to hide her scarred face. "I . . . He scared me."

"He's been watching over you for two weeks and he was the one that found you and brought you to us." Devin remarked with just a hint of asperity in his voice. "He really is a very nice person once you get to know him."

"I know that now." Carol snapped back then a little softer she continued. "I just didn't know what he looked like and he surprised me." She looked down a couple of seconds. "Do you think he will come back?"

"If you want him to, he will. Otherwise he won't come near you." Devin replied. "He won't go where he's not welcome." There was just a hint of displeasure in his voice. Catherine gave him a quick admonishing glare over his tone.

Carol looked over at Catherine. "Would you ask him to come back . . . please? I, ah, I really want to thank him for all he's done for me."

Carol noticed that Catherine's eyes seemed to momentarily lose focus. Devin also noticed it and remarked. "I think Vincent will be here shortly."

Catherine smiled "He's on his way."

Carol glanced curiously from Catherine to Devin and Back to Catherine wondering what that was all about. A minute later Vincent's voice called from outside the chamber asking if he could come in. "Please come in." Carol called out as she tried to mentally prepare herself for what she would see.

Vincent entered the chamber and Catherine introduced him to Carol. "Carol, this is my husband, Vincent."

This time she knew what to expect and thought that he actually looked rather magnificent.

Vincent stopped when he was about halfway between Carol and the doorway, and nodded his head. "It's good to see you are feeling better, Carol. I apologize for frightening you earlier. I was afraid that you might cause more damage to your injuries by removing the bandage too soon."

Carol felt that familiar feeling deep inside at the sound of his voice. At the mention of her injuries she remembered her face and lowered her head. "I'm sorry I screamed at you."

"Please don't worry about it." Vincent replied.

Carol glanced up to see that Catherine had moved over next to Vincent and put her arm around his waist. Vincent had his arm around her shoulder, his fingers curled around her upper arm. Her eye was drawn to his very sharp looking claws that were resting against Catherine's upper arm. Catherine was leaning into him, apparently completely unconcerned about those deadly looking claws. It occurred to Carol that it could feel very safe and protected within those arms if you were not afraid of those claws, and how could any woman resist that voice. Carol looked back down at the ground, her hair falling across her scarred face.

Carol felt an arm across her shoulder and glanced up to see Devin seated beside her, sympathy clearly showing on his face. "I know you feel like your life is over because of what happened to you but, I assure you, you still have a lot of good living ahead of you."

Catherine spoke up. "Tomorrow morning, if you feel up to it and still wish to testify, I will take you above to the DA's office where you can give your statement."

Devin was looking at Carol's lowered head as he spoke. "I'll take care of her until then."

She looked up and saw that bit of mischievous sparkle hidden in his eyes that she had expected would be there since the day he had spent with her. She smiled tentatively at him. He smiled back.

Catherine tilted her head and her eyebrows arched. "Right . . . In that case, Vincent and I have other things to do so we'll leave you in Devin's hands."

Vincent added. "Watch out for my big brother. He can be a bit of a character sometimes."

With that Catherine and Vincent exited her chamber leaving Carol alone with Devin. Carol was a bit surprised by their rather sudden exit and looked over at Devin. "What happened?" She asked perplexed.

Devin shrugged. "I guess Vincent sensed that I wanted to spend some time with you and decided to give us some space." That mischievous sparkle she had seen was a little more pronounced.

She hung her head. "Why would you be interested in me? I look hideous."

She felt his hand on her chin as he gently forced her to look back up at him. "If there is one thing that I've learned in my rather chaotic life, it's that true beauty comes from inside." He touched his own scars with his other hand. "Besides I'm not exactly unmarked myself."

"How did that happen?" She asked a bit unsure how her question would be received.

"Vincent and I got into a fight as kids. I was really mad at him and I hit him, knocking him down. He struck back. When he realized what he had done it took the fight right out of him. It was the only time we ever came to blows and we were both devastated by what we had done." Devin shrugged.

She shrugged shaking her head. "You're scars give you a kinda rakish look, more like the hero of an adventure movie." She would have dropped her head again as tears formed in her eyes, but his hand on her chin prevented it. "I look like something from a horror movie. The monster that the hero battles."

She stared uncomfortably back at him as Devin cocked his head to the side and studied her face for a long time then he shook his head. "No . . . the stitches may stand out at present but you really do not look all that bad. I can still see the beauty that is there." He tilted his head the other way. "Besides there are several excellent plastic surgeons in this town that could fix you up as good as new, if that's what you want. I was talking with Catherine about it a couple of days ago. She told me that after a couple of months, once your face has healed up, she was going to take you to one that she knew was very good."

Carol shook her head dejectedly. "I could never afford anything like that."

"Cathy can." Devin replied simply. "It would be pocket change to her and I know that she has already talked to the surgeon about your case."

Carol felt the stirrings of hope at Devin's words. "But why would she do that for someone like me?"

"Because that's the type of people Cathy and Vincent are." Devin responded. "Vincent could care less about money and Cathy sees her wealth as a convenient tool for helping others." He smiled. "All of us that live and grew up down here are like that." He suddenly stood up and held out his hand. "Why don't I give you a quick tour of our little world down here."

After a few moment's hesitation, she stood up and shyly took his hand.

~ x x x x x ~

Carol awoke to the ever present sound of the tapping of the pipes. She stretched and smiled remembering the time she had spent with Devin yesterday. He had been so sweet and considerate to her as he had shown her around this amazing underground community while occasionally regaling her with more tales of his adventures all around the world. His life sounded like heaven to her. It had been her own adventurous spirit that had brought her to New York. Unfortunately she had been a bit naïve and had fallen in with the wrong people. Now Devin was telling her that she could start fresh. She had not felt this happy and alive in a long time. Even the pull of the stitches reminding her of her face could not banish her good feelings this morning.

After a moment she got out of the bed and got ready for her first morning back in the world above. She put on the clothes that Catherine had given her for this return. It was actually a rather smart and sophisticated outfit, much better than anything she had ever owned. Then she saw her face and the effect was lost as she touched the stitches.

She heard the sound of a throat being cleared from beyond the tapestry covered doorway. "Carol, it's Cathy and Vincent. May we come in?"

Carol smiled, glanced once more at herself in the mirror, shrugged and responded. "Sure, come on in."

Catherine and Vincent entered the chamber. "It looks like you're ready to go."

Carol shrugged. "I guess so."

Catherine nodded. "Good. Our first stop will be to see a doctor friend of ours. He will then take us to a specialist on your type of injuries. The specialist will examine you for the official record and probably testify at the trial." Vincent held back the tapestry and Catherine indicated that they should go. "You have to understand that the doctor that Peter will be taking us to, knows nothing about Vincent or this place. In fact, once we get above it is best if you assume that no one you meet is aware of this place."

"What do I say if someone asks where I've been?" Carol asked.

"If it comes up, the simplest thing is to say that you were found and helped by a group of homeless people and I came for you once they informed me that they had you and that the doctor we are seeing first removed your bandages. That way you can claim that you don't know exactly where you were before the bandages were removed. Other than keeping the secret of Vincent and the tunnels, just answer any questions as honestly as you can. For instance all you know about the doctor that fixed you up was that everyone else called him Father."

Carol nodded her understanding. She glanced at Vincent. She could imagine how bad things could get if knowledge of his existence ever got out.

~ o ~

After nearly an hour of walking through the complex maze of various types of tunnels they ended up in a very nice home where they were met by a tall distinguished looking gentleman. "Catherine, Vincent, good to see you." He looked at Carol. "And this must be the young woman you mentioned." He gave no indication that he even noticed the damage to her face.

Vincent responded. "Peter this is Carol Stabler." He then addressed Carol. "This is Doctor Peter Alcott."

Peter responded. "Pleasure to meet you. The doctor I'm taking you to is Doctor Keysha Turner. She is a trauma specialist. She will be examining your injuries and making a report for the police and the court."

After giving Catherine a quick hug and kiss, Vincent handed Carol his hooded cape, telling her that he understood that she might not want other people staring at her, then he headed back below. Peter drove Catherine and Carol to another brownstone on the other side of the park from his home.

~ o ~

They were greeted by a tall elegant dark skinned woman who introduced herself as Doctor Keysha Turner. Carol followed Doctor Keysha into the examination room where her injuries were very thoroughly examined as the woman questioned her about what had happened.

Carol told her more or less the story that Catherine had suggested. She had been attacked, lost consciousness when thrown out of the van, woke up with her head and face completely bandaged so that she was blind while they cared for her for two weeks, Then she was turned over to Catherine who brought her to Doctor Peter Alcott who removed the bandages covering her face.

Doctor Keysha then took a few pictures of her injuries. Carol dressed herself while the doctor wrote up a report on her examination. Once she was dressed Carol asked the doctor how bad it was.

Doctor Keysha replied. "I won't lie to you. The injuries were very severe. I suspect that the only reason you are alive is because these unknown people got to you so quickly. With those injuries, I doubt an ambulance could have reached you in time." She studied Carol's face a moment then continued. "Fortunately the doctor that fixed you up did a very careful and skillful job so the scaring won't be as bad as it could be." Touching Carol's chin and adjusting her head first left then right Doctor Keysha continued. "With the exception of this one next to your left ear, most of the scaring can be easily removed by a good plastic surgeon."

A few minutes later Doctor Keysha escorted Carol back out to her parlor where Catherine and Peter had been waiting. She handed Catherine a folder containing her report and the pictures. Doctor Alcott and Catherine thanked her and the three of them headed for the district attorney's office.

~ o ~

Catherine took Carol in to meet Joe and he took her statement which was the same story she told the doctor. Joe pulled up the police reports on the three attackers while Carol's statement was being taken down. Finally it was done.

Joe shook Carol's hand as he complemented her. "We really appreciate your willingness to help us with this case Miss Stabler." He glanced at Catherine. "These men are all very bad characters, have you made arrangements for Miss Stabler's safety?"

Catherine nodded. "She's staying with some friends of mine until the case is finished."

Joe nodded in response. "Very good. I'll see to it that the arrest warrants are issued right away. We should have these men in custody by tomorrow." He smiled at Carol as he continued. "I'm going to recommend that they be held without bail on the grounds that this attack was to eliminate a potential witness and they are a danger to everyone involved in this case."

After Carol and Catherine left Joes office. Carol pulled up the hood to hide her face when the plainclothes detective that they met at the elevators did a poorly concealed double take. The officer escorted them out of the building to a car that was waiting for them. As they passed through the building's lobby they did not notice the rough looking character that was standing in the half hidden alcove.

~ o ~

The officer dropped Carol and Catherine off at Catherine's apartment. A fairly ordinary looking sedan pulled over and stopped a short distance up the street.

As they entered Catherine's brownstone the first thing Carol noticed was the understated elegance of the place and the furnishings. She was a bit startled by the sight of Vincent coming out of the kitchen at the back of the brownstone a second after Catherine closed the front door. "I'm sorry I jumped." Carol remarked after a moment's hesitation. "Even though I have become used to you, I still never would have expected to run into you in a place like this."

Vincent nodded as he smiled at Catherine. "Why not, after all it is our home."

Catherine chuckled as she approached him. "Makes sense to me. Where else would you expect to meet a fantasy than in a fantastical environment?" She put her arm around his waist. "You're my greatest fantasy and I still am amazed to find you beside me when I wake up." She stretched up as he kissed her.

Carol glanced away quietly mumbling, "Get a room," under her breath.

Carol was surprised by Vincent's chuckle. "Actually we have a room. It's upstairs. And I have very good hearing."

Catherine giggled at Vincent's comment. "His acute sense of hearing can be a bit frustrating sometimes." She patted Vincent on his chest. "I don't know about you two, but I'm hungry. How about lunch?" At a nod from Vincent she headed back to the kitchen.

~ o ~

Carol pushed back from the table with a sigh. "That was a very good meal." She glanced over at Vincent as he picked up his plate and started toward the kitchen. "And I really enjoyed your company."

Vincent paused at the kitchen door and smiled back at her. Then he frowned and his attention switched toward the front of the building. An instant later Catherine jumped up and grabbed Carol. "We have to move now!" Then the sound of gunshots rang out followed a half second later by the thud of something heavy hitting the front door.

Three men burst through the front door as Catherine pulled Carol toward the back staircase then a shot rang out.

Time seemed to slip into slow motion as Carol glanced back at the three men running toward them. Martin Belmont and Lyle Vangelder were carrying guns; Ralph Manconi, as usual, had a knife. There was no way they could make the back stairs before they were shot down. They were trapped. Then Carol caught sight of Vincent just out of the invader's sight in the kitchen. There was a wild, feral, look on his leonine face.

Martin was speaking as he moved in rapidly. "Uh, Uh, Uh." Then they were right in front of them. "Say good night." Ralph was moving in waving his knife in front of Catherine's face as Martin pointed his gun into Carol's face

Then everyone was startled as the room was filled by a roar of primal rage. Carol stared in horror as the next instant Vincent was among the three men and bodies flew in all directions. I less that a second, two of the men lay crumple unconscious on opposite sides of the room. Vincent stood over a cowering Martin Belmont poised to strike again when Carol issued a squeak of fear turning away. A second later as Martin's frightened blather continued, Carol looked back to see the positions unchanged. As she watched she saw the fire slowly fade from Vincent's eyes.

Catherine entered the kitchen and a short time later she returned carrying a roll of duct tape. As Martin cowered before the overbearing mass of a glowering Vincent, Catherine got Carol to help her tie him into one of the dining room chairs. Next they secured the two unconscious men to other dining room chairs. Catherine then quickly checked over all three men. There were plenty of bruises and abrasions but there wasn't a claw mark among them.

She breathed a sigh of relief and turned back to Martin her eyes as cold as ice as she spoke to him in a low controlled tone. "Something to consider," She glanced over at Vincent, and Carol saw a hint of a smile flash across her face before she turned back. "The only thing standing between you and him . . . is me." She then turned her back on Martin and approached Vincent. At that moment everything that Carol had been through came together in one irresistible need and every bit of it was released in a single punch that sent Marten, chair an all over backwards with a loud painful grunt.

"Wow, Stabler, remind me never to get on your bad side." They looked over to see Devin approaching from the back basement stairs.

Carol looked at Martin then back to Devin, her eyes slightly glazed over. Then as she started to shake in reaction to what had happened, Devin stepped up and put his arms around her. The tears started to flow as she clung to him.

As Devin held the severely shaken Carol, Catherine checked out Martin Belmont. He was dazed, there was a large bruise forming on the side of his face, and he had a bloody nose. Catherine then went over to her phone and called Detective Henderson. She told him that there had been a break-in at her home but the attackers had been subdued and were currently tied up in her dining room. Next she called up Joe and told him what had happened. By the time she got off the phone with Joe, Carol had regained control of herself.

Catherine turned to Vincent, her manor a bit subdued, and spoke to him quietly. "I'm sorry for what I said."

"It may have been harsh," Vincent glanced at the three invaders, looked down then back into her eyes. "But it was essentially the truth."

Catherine glanced over at the three invaders. Martin was groaning and gingerly shaking his head. The other two were still out. She looked back at Vincent taking his hands. "You had better make yourself scarce before the police arrive."

After a quick kiss, Vincent headed below. Just before Detective Henderson and the police arrived, Winslow came up and was there representing himself as the big man that took out the three invaders. Henderson gave Catherine a suspicious look and received a grin and a wink from her in response. With a nod he ordered the police officers to take the three men away while he took the witnesses statements. After the other officers were gone, Vincent returned and gave his version of what had really happened. Henderson then took down the edited version with Winslow substituting for Vincent.

~ x x x x x ~

**Three months later**

It was late evening when Catherine and Vincent stepped out onto their rooftop garden. They both smiled at the sight that greeted them. Devin and Carol were cuddled up on the outdoor chase and watching the brilliant colors of the sunset spread across the sky. Vincent politely cleared his throat and the two lovers turned to face them as they approached.

Catherine spoke. "I hear that you saw the plastic surgeon today. Was it good news?"

Carol smiled. "More or less. He has me scheduled for next month. He said that he believes he will be able to fix most of the scars." She shrugged. "No guarantees."

Catherine nodded. "The court cases are all over now and Belmont and his men are going away for a very long time, so what do you plan to do until then ?"

Devin replied. "We thought we'd spend our honeymoon down under with Mick and the gang at Never Never Safaris.

"Honeymoon?" Vincent cocked his head as he looked at Carol. "You sure about this? You know, Devin will never be the type to settle down, whether you follow him or not. He will drag you over half of creation if you stay with him."

Carol broke into a big grin. "I'm kinda counting on it and I will follow wherever the wild goose takes him."

Devin added. "It's already done. We got the license and saw the justice of the peace before we went to see the doctor."

Catherine and Vincent looked on in surprised shock. Finally Vincent spoke. "Congratulations big brother, Father will kill you when he hears, assuming he survives the heart attack."

Catherine merely shook her head. "It aught to be an interesting life."

_**Continued in Part 23**_

* * *

'**Beauty and the Beast'** and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures. No infringement on copyrights is intended. This story is presented merely for the enjoyment of fans. Original concepts and story elements may be used by other authors as long as appropriate credit is given.


	23. Family

**The Road Not Taken****  
**(An Alternate Universe Story)_  
By Thomas Mc_

* * *

**Part 23 : Family  
**

**August 1987**

After a long hard week Catherine was ready for a weekend below with Vincent. She dropped her brief case on the small table beside the door and glanced around the empty brownstone with a sigh. Sarah and Kyle Reese had dropped by the office with their new baby boy and Catherine was feeling a bit moody. Vincent was somewhere below and, based on the emotions she was sensing, he was working very hard on something critical. Because of the stormy weather of the previous three days, she suspected that it was another leaking pipe threatening to flood the tunnel community. Sometimes it could get a bit lonely in this place she thought as she carried the days mail over to the sofa. She glanced through the mail and a recently familiar handwriting on an envelope from Australia caught her attention. She quickly opened it up and began reading the letter.

x - - - - x

_Dear Cathy and Vincent,_

_Devin and I just got back from leading another tour into the outback. I have never had so much fun in my life. Being with Devin seems to turn my life into one continuous wonderful adventure and I can never get enough of the stories he tells around the campfire at night. You should hear the stories he tells about the lion-man creature and the rich debutant. Of course they are set in the 'Mysterious Outback' but there is enough truth in his tales that I can recognize the two of you._

_Mick, who is half owner of the tour guide company has become a local legend by escaping from a very nasty crocodile attack last week. We thought he was going to lose his leg at first but it now looks like he is going to come out of it with little more than a very impressive scar. You should see it when Mick and Devin compare old battle wounds. Up until now Devin always won but, with the crock attack, the tide has shifted and Mick's leg now out impresses Devin's cheek. Of course back before my cosmetic surgery took me completely out of the competition I was usually the winner._

_Well that's all I have to report for now. Tomorrow we will be taking another group of visitors out for a week of camping in the outback and another round of Devin's, not so tall, tall tales. Devin is checking over our equipment but he said to say 'hi' to Vincent and tell you that we are planning to come to New York for Winterfest, whatever that is. Devin says that I will love it._

_Love and kisses,  
Carol and Devin_

_x - - - - x  
_

Catherine couldn't resist a feeling of self satisfaction as she read the letter. Not only had they saved Carol and put the bad guys away for a very long time, but they had given her a new life. Based on this and the two previous letters, despite being very unconventional, Carol had definitely found her happy life. But most surprising was that Devin was also extremely happy with his choice of a mate and their life together.

Catherine put the letter aside for Vincent as she looked through the rest of the mail. She opened an invitation to a one man art show her father was sponsoring for Kristopher Gentian in six weeks. Catherine smiled as she thought about the incredible painting Kristopher had done for her father. The painting was based on a picture of her Father and Mother together. The intense love that shone in their eyes on that painting left one breathless. She only wished that Vincent could attend that show with her. He would love Kristopher's paintings. Several times since the day he had finished that painting, Kristopher had asked her to pose for him. She had to admit that she was tempted. She grinned as she found herself wondering what Kristopher might make of a portrait of Vincent then shook her head. "Dream on." She muttered to herself.

There was also a postcard informing her that her copy of the new book '**300 Days**' was in at the bookstore. The rest was bills or junk mail. She set aside the mail and headed upstairs to change out of her ADA work clothes.

A half hour later Catherine came downstairs dressed for the tunnels. She grabbed the letter from Carol and Devin and headed for the basement access to the tunnels. As had recently become a habit, she took a slightly longer route that brought her down to the home tunnels by way of Elizabeth's painted tunnels.

~ o ~

Charles had heard that Elizabeth had finished a new painting and had decided to take a detour through the painted tunnels on his way below to see Jacob. He spotted Catherine there and noticed that she was over staring at the picture of Jacob holding Vincent as an infant. She had not yet become aware that anyone else was present and Charles was able to observe her unselfconscious reactions to the painting she was looking at. She reached out and touched the image of the infant Vincent and sighed then she closed her eyes and rested her head against the tunnel wall. A few seconds later she became aware of her father and, straightening up self-consciously, she turned her attention to him. "Daddy . . ."

Charles approached his daughter and placed his arm around her shoulders then smiled sympathetically. "You look a bit melancholy. Is it about Vincent or is it about children?"

Catherine sighed as she looked down for a moment then looked up into her father's eyes. "I want to have children." She again glanced down momentarily. There was a flash of determination in her eyes then she shook her head. "No . . . that's not completely accurate . . . What I want is to have Vincent's children." Her shoulders sagged just a bit. "But Vincent is so afraid that his children would look like him and feels that it would be wrong to do that to me and my children." Again she shook her head. "I keep trying to convince him that it doesn't matter to me what they look like but he is determined to spare me such a dilemma and he also fears how others, especially you and Father, would react to the possibility of such a child."

They started off walked toward the home tunnels in silence. Finally Charles spoke. "I think part of your problem is that you are not being completely honest with Vincent." Catherine stopped and looked at her father, surprise in her face. He continued before she could protest his statement. "You keep trying to tell him that it doesn't matter what your children look like. But the truth is that you do care about your children's appearance . . . and you are uncertain how Vincent would feel about such a child, so you're holding back on your real feelings. Vincent senses that and he thinks it means that you are not sure you like the idea of children that are like him so he continues to try to spare you." She started to shake her head in denial but her father forged ahead as they continued walking. "Why don't you just tell him what you really want?" He smiled encouragingly. "You don't just want his children, you also hope his children will be just like him. You would be delighted if he gave you a son that was the spitting image of his father."

A light seemed to go on inside her head. That was exactly what she wanted, a true son of Vincent. She thought about what her father said. She had never specifically told Vincent what she really wanted, opting instead to take a more diplomatic but less truthful stance. Her uncertainty about how Vincent would feel about having a child that looked like him only aggravated her emotional ambiguity.

Charles smiled as he saw the light dawn on his daughter's face. They both were momentarily distracted by the pipes announcing that Vincent and the repair crew were on their way back to the home tunnels. Charles glanced again at his daughter. "Talk to him Cathy . . . tell him how you really feel." Then they separated as Catherine headed for their weekend chamber while Charles headed toward Jacob's chamber.

~ o ~

As their weekly chess game developed, Charles had casually steered the conversation around to the subject of Vincent and Catherine's possible offspring. Jacob was speaking. "We still don't know if Vincent is even able to give her children."

Charles responded. "That may be true, and I think Cathy could accept it if they were unable to have children together, but he won't even make the attempt."

Jacob shrugged. "He merely wants to spare Catherine the difficulties such a child would entail."

"If that's true then he is operating under the mistaken impression that she would even consider such a child to be a problem." Charles responded as he moved his bishop. "I think it is more than just that. I think he is also worried about how such a child would be received by you and I." Charles cocked his head as he looked back at Jacob. "As far as that is concerned, just how do you feel about the idea of Vincent fathering a child like that?"

Jacob looked up from the board and returned Charles' gaze for a couple of seconds considering just exactly how he felt before responding. "I would welcome any child of those two, regardless of its appearance." He paused a moment then nodded, mostly to himself. "I think I would enjoy having a young version of Vincent around again."

Charles looked down at the board without really seeing it as he voiced his opinion. "I have thought a lot about this subject ever since I realized that a romantic relationship between them was a real possibility." Charles smiled as he nodded back at Jacob. "I feel the same as you. I would welcome any child of Cathy and Vincent." Charles leaned back in his chair and looked Jacob in the eyes. "I suggest we form a delegation of two and have a little man to man talk with Vincent."

As Vincent passed Father's library on his way back from cleaning up, he heard Father call out to him. He paused then turned and entered the library to find Father and Charles watching him intently. From the look on their faces and the emotions he was sensing, he knew that they wanted to talk to him about something important. He stopped before them. "Yes Father? You want to see me?"

Jacob seemed a bit uncertain how to proceed. "Charles and I were talking just a minute ago and, ah . . . we were thinking that, ah, we were wondering if . . ."

Charles saw that Jacob was floundering and jumped in at this point. "Vincent, Jacob and I are not getting any younger and we were both wondering when are you and Cathy are going to quit fooling around and make us Grandfathers?"

Vincent and Jacob both stared at Charles in shocked surprise as he gazed unflinchingly back at Vincent. Finally Vincent recovered enough presence of mind to respond. "But what if the child were to look like me?"

Jacob recovered his composure and responded. "That would make no more difference to me than it did when I raised you. I would welcome such a child."

Charles jumped in. "Personally I'm hoping some of your children do turn out just like you."

Jacob added. "Actually I'm kind of looking forward to having a few more like you under foot again." He then glanced at Charles. "I believe that I can assure you that all of us down here would welcome any child of yours and Catherine's."

Vincent stood there looking at the two men he respected the most absorbing what they were trying to tell him. Finally he responded. "There is also Catherine to consider in this. I know that she feels some uncertainty on this subject. I would not want to push her into something she wasn't sure about."

Jacob nodded his understanding. "It's possible you are misinterpreting her feelings on this." He placed his hand on Vincent's shoulder. "Talk to her, Vincent. Find out what exactly what it is that makes her feel uncertain and tell her truthfully how you personally feel about having such a child." He squeezed Vincent's shoulder.

Vincent became alert and glanced at the lower doorway as he felt Catherine's approach. "I will consider what you have told me." Then he turned to face the doorway as Catherine passed through it.

Catherine took in the scene before her combined with the emotions she had been sensing from Vincent. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" She inquired as she stepped into the library.

Charles responded. "Just a little guy talk is all."

She glanced from her father to Vincent with a little half smile. "Um, I see."

Everyone's attention was diverted to the dinner announcement going out over the pipes. Charles grinned. "I'm starving. How about you Jacob."

Jacob nodded. "Dinner sounds good to me." He indicated the lower doorway. "Shall we?"

Catherine Glanced at the three of them. "Fine with me." She linked elbows with a slightly bemused Vincent, led them out of the library and proceeded into the dining chamber.

~ o ~

Catherine and Vincent were strolling through the park after sundown relating the events of their respective day. For the last ten minutes they had both been deep in their own thoughts and not speaking. Catherine could feel the conflicting emotions swirling through Vincent and knew that he had something on their mind that he wanted to say.

Vincent could feel the sense of _anticipation_ slowly building within Catherine finally decided to broach the subject of children. "Catherine . . ."

She looked over at him expectantly. "Yes?"

"Um, I was talking with Father and Charles before dinner and, well, they were wondering if we were ever going to have children." He seemed momentarily at a loss what to say next.

After a few moment's silence she reached out and took his arm arresting their forward movement, turning him to face her and look her in the eye. "And what did you tell them?"

He thought a moment before responded. "I, ah . . . I repeated my worry that a child of ours might turn out like me." He gazed at her for a moment before continuing. "How do you really feel about it."

Catherine reached up and pushed his hood back. She cocked her head to one side as she studied his leonine features then she looked him straight in the eye. "More than anything I want to give you a son that is exactly like you." She cocked her head the other way. "And what do you want? How would you really feel if our child looked like you?"

There had been no uncertainty in her. She really meant what she had said. "I would love any child of ours no matter what it looked like."

She studied him a moment. He was still trying to be diplomatic so she pushed. "But do you really want children of your own?"

Vincent gave a quick nod. "Yes, I do."

Catherine broke out in a huge grin as she reached up and touched his fuzzy cheek. "Then I think that we should start working on making our desires come true."

Vincent became aware of a rapidly growing sense of wonder as a voice floated out of the darkness. "When the moon was over head came two young lovers lately wed . . ."

Vincent quickly pulled his hood up as in a sudden panic Catherine pushed at Vincent. "Go! Go! Before he sees you." She glanced back as a figure stepped out of the shadows. "Kristopher?"

The young artist gazed at them with an irrepressible smile playing across his face. Then his look turned more serious. "Please, don't send him away." He paused staring at Vincent. "What century, what story book, did you step out of."

Catherine's heart was pounding as she stared back at one of her greatest fears. "What are you doing here?"

Kristopher continued to gaze at Vincent. ". . . And over our heads a blue bird sings of beautiful and impossible things . . ." He turned his attention to Catherine. ". . . Of things that are not but should be . . ." He turned his attention back to Vincent. ". . . such as children from the two of you."

"What?" Catherine blurted out.

Kristopher's grin widened. "I was wandering the park waiting for inspiration when I overheard your conversation."

Vincent suddenly became very alert and glanced around. A half second later Catherine and Kristopher heard the sound of voices coming from the direction Vincent was looking. Catherine turned to Vincent. "You have to get out of here, now."

As they watched Vincent disappear into the darkness, Kristopher commented softly. "He moves beautifully. Do you think he will ever sit for me?" He turned his attention on Catherine. "Maybe I could get the both of you to pose together." The irrepressible smile returned along with the look of wonder in his eyes. "The two of you do belong together . . . Just as your mother and father belonged together."

A group of teenagers came into view following the nearby path. They glanced curiously at Catherine and Kristopher as they continued past them. Catherine watched the teens intently until they disappeared around a corner. "Look I don't think . . ." She continued as she turned back around, but Kristopher had disappeared.

~ x x x x x ~

Doctor Peter Alcott put away his stethoscope and smiled at Catherine. "You are in excellent health and everything is working properly. There may be a few minor side effects the first few months after you discontinue the pill but they will go away and there should be no major problems."

Catherine nodded. "What about getting pregnant? Will there be any difficulties?"

Peter looked at her a moment then responded. "It may take a few months for your cycle to reassert itself and there is no way to tell if it will be as irregular as it was before. There are a lot of variables involved like the timing of your cycle and Vincent's genetic compatibility. We don't really know all that much about Vincent's genetics. But your system is in good shape so if Vincent turns out to be compatible then it is just a matter of time and luck."

Catherine stood up from the examining table. "So basically your telling me that it may be possible but you really don't know for sure."

Peter nodded. "That's about the size of it." He opened the door and walked her out. "Only time will tell."

Catherine smiled at him as she exited the office. "Thanks for everything Peter."

Peter smiled back. "Good luck, to both of you."

~ x x x x x ~

Catherine smiled to herself as she watched Joe's reactions to the paintings on exhibit. There was something so powerful about Kristopher's paintings. The women's images exuded a kind of sensual sexuality that grabbed you. The very few images of males could make a woman's knees go weak. Despite the high prices, his paintings were selling at a good pace.

Charles and Peter wandered over. Charles was looking around at the large turnout and smiling. "Looks like the show is turning out to be a major success." He glanced over at a knot of art critics surrounding Kristopher and chuckled. "The art critics are falling all over themselves trying to out do each other in their praise of his work."

Catherine laughed. "Earlier I saw Kristopher over across the room surrounded by patrons wanting to offer him commissions to do paintings specifically for them. It's nice to see a good artist become a success in his own lifetime. Usually they have to die to obtain this kind of success."

Peter glanced over at the artist then looked back at Catherine. "He was lucky to have you and Charles as patrons to help present his work to the public." He grinned. "Robin and Susan both want me get him to do portraits of them."

Catherine laughed. "Did I tell you that he wanted Vincent to pose for him?"

Both men stared at her in shocked surprise. "What?" Charles exclaimed.

Catherine glanced over where Kristopher and the critics were congregated. "He was in the park late one evening . . ." She shrugged. "Ah . . . communing with his muse and he spotted Vincent and me." She paused, glancing again at Kristopher. "It was the night you and Father confronted Vincent about children. We were deep in discussion about it and didn't see him standing there."

Peter shook his head. "I'm surprised Vincent didn't sense his presence."

Catherine responded. "Vincent didn't sense him until the moment that he became aware of us." She shook her head. "Kristopher told me later that he sometimes goes into the park and just stands there letting his mind go completely blank while he waits for inspiration. Vincent thinks that, combined with how intent we were on the subject of having children, is why he didn't sense Kristopher's presence." She chuckled with another glance at the artist then grinned at the two men with her. "I think it was his comment about the subject of our possible children that finally nudged Vincent into acceptance."

Peter glanced over at the artist. "I hope he doesn't become a problem for you and Vincent."

Catherine shook her head. "So far he hasn't caused us any problems."

~ o ~

Catherine and Charles watched the last of the guests as they exited the gallery. The show had been an unqualified success with every piece on display being sold. Kristopher had left about a half hour ago with three beautiful women in tow and talking about a new piece that he would call 'Three Sisters'.

As the workers were locking up the gallery, the owner approached Catherine and Charles, followed by one of his assistants carrying a large package. "Miss Chandler . . . Miss Chandler, don't forget your package."

"What?" Catherine responded in confusion.

The owner indicated the two foot by three and a half foot package his assistant was carrying. "It has your name on it so I assume it belongs to you." The tag on the package said Catherine Chandler in Kristopher's handwriting.

~ o ~

Charles, Peter and Vincent stood together in the brownstone parlor as Catherine removed the wrapping from the package left to her by Kristopher. There were four sharp indrawn breaths as the four of them beheld the painting that was revealed and they stood dumfounded as they all took in the amazing painting before them.

The painting showed a surprisingly accurate image of Vincent with his arms wrapped lovingly around Catherine just in front of him. A look of all-consuming love for each other shone from both their faces and their eyes spoke of passion. Standing just in front of them were two adolescents. The girl looked very much like a young Catherine but with Vincent's blue eyes; The boy was the image of Vincent but with Catherine's green eyes.

After a few seconds, Vincent drew their attention to the dedication that had been inscribed at the bottom of the painting.

x - - - - x

**_Of beautiful things that are not but should be  
And one day will be – Kristopher Gention_**

x - - - - x

**_The Beginning_**

**_

* * *

_**

_**Author's Note : ** I had intended to end this story here but several readers have expressed an interest in what happened during the first two seasons of the show so I decided to write a sequel called 'The Other Path' to cover that issue. However it may take a while before that story is ready and there are a few other stories I wish to finish before I go back and start work on 'The Other Path'. _

* * *

'**Beauty and the Beast'** and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures. No infringement on copyrights is intended. This story is presented merely for the enjoyment of fans. Original concepts and story elements may be used by other authors as long as appropriate credit is given.


End file.
